The Mind Worm
by Bill K
Summary: Tokyo is plagued by a series of events where fictional characters come to deadly life, and Queen Serenity and the Senshi must track down the source and put a stop to it.
1. The Name Is Familiar

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 1: "The Name Is Familiar"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2019 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2019 by Bill K. Lupin the Third and all related characters are (c)2019 by the estate of Kazuhiko "Monkey Punch" Kato and Futabasha Publishers Ltd.

* * *

Working at the Crystal Palace was often routine, in spite of its residents and their myriad adventures. There wasn't a crisis EVERY day, so the people employed to clean the place, guard the residents, cook their meals and act as liaison between the Royal Family and the Diet or the various Ministries of the Japanese government often knew what to expect. Citizens and tourists would line up to get a chance to meet and talk with the Queen. Politicians would complain that they weren't getting the special treatment they felt they deserved. Mail was answered and events were planned. Every day business was conducted much the way it was in any other governmental office, whether democracy or monarchy.

That's why the cleaning and maintenance staff didn't react with more than casual surprise when they saw Queen Serenity racing down the halls of the palace squealing like a five year old, a little black cat chasing after her. While it didn't happen every day, it had happened often enough for them to know that the Queen had received some very happy news.

"YOUR MAJESTY, COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" bellowed Luna as she pursued her sovereign. The Queen ignored her and continued to race through the halls toward the residential area. Her skirt was hiked up immodestly and she was still a quivering, giddy mass. "THIS IS NO WAY FOR A MONARCH TO BEHAVE!"

"Oh, stuff it, Luna!" Serenity replied after skidding to a halt before a residence door. Not waiting for the residents to acknowledge her, the Queen passed through the door by going momentarily immaterial. Luna skidded to a stop at the door, which remained solid for her.

"This nation is doomed," muttered the black cat and sat down to wait, either for Serenity to emerge or for her to be allowed in.

"I JUST HEARD! WHEN ARE YOU DUE?" squealed Serenity.

The occupant of the residence, her sister-in-law Yoriko, stared at the Queen in total shock, struck speechless by her wraith-like appearance. She actually backed up a step when the Queen charged her, but couldn't escape. Serenity wrapped her in a bear hug and began bouncing up and down on her dainty toes. Yoriko's two children, five year old Mikomi and three year old Kenji, started giggling at Serenity's antics. For her part, when the reformed Yuki-onna realized that Serenity wasn't attacking, Yoriko began laughing and trying to calm the Queen.

"Serenity-oneesan," Yoriko sputtered between giggles, "please! I can't talk to you when you're jumping around like that!"

"I'm sorry! Yes! You're right!" Serenity apologized. Then she broke out in a wide grin again. "It's just so exciting!"

"What's all the noise in here?" asked Shingo Tsukino, appearing in a doorway from the den of the living quarters. Since he worked evenings, his sister had just roused him from sleep. "Oh, it's you. Guess you heard."

"Don't give me that 'oh it's you'!" growled Serenity. "Why aren't you excited? Your wife's having a baby!"

"Another one?" gasped little Mikomi. "Pretty soon there won't be enough room for me around here!" Kenji laughed without really understanding what was happening, only that his sister was upset.

"There'll always be room for my best girl," Shingo said, walking over and mussing her hair with his hand. Shingo, now thirty-seven and senior manager of the stage crew at a local club, approached his sister. "What can I say? Yoriko told me when we got married that Yuki-onna were very fertile. And Kenji needs someone to boss around."

"You're taking this pretty cavalierly," Serenity eyed him.

"Hey, a new word for you," Shingo jabbed. His sister wrinkled her nose at him. "We weren't planning on having another, but there's always room in this family for one more. And Yoriko has proven to be the greatest mother in history, so why worry?"

"And Shingo is the very best at being a father," Yoriko added.

"Hey, I had a good teacher," Shingo shrugged. Serenity nodded, remembering Kenji Tsukino.

"I know!" gasped Yoriko. "Serenity-oneesan, would you like to name the baby?"

"M-Me?" squeaked the woman who had faced down Sailor Galaxia.

"If you're not up to it," Shingo teased.

"I'll show you who's not up to it!" fumed the Queen, drawing laughter from little Kenji. "I'll come up with the best name possible!" She thought a moment. "Just as soon as the baby's sex has been determined!"

"That would probably help," Shingo grinned at her as Yoriko twittered.

"Shut up!" pouted Serenity. "Honestly, Yoriko, I don't know what you see in him!"

* * *

In between working on the latest page of her manga and her daily meet-and-greet with the public in the Royal Receiving Room, Serenity pondered the question of what she could suggest to Shingo and Yoriko as a good name for their impending third child. Luna made it a point to follow her around all day, as a distracted Serenity was often an accident-prone Serenity. But the Queen managed to separate herself from the dilemma when other matters needed her attention.

Still, the question hung over her as she and Makoto headed for the front gate to welcome their own children home.

"You don't think I'm obsessing on this, do you?" Serenity asked as they descended the grand staircase into the front lobby. Tourists in the lobby pointed and murmured at the sight of the Queen while palace security kept them behind balustrades.

"Not about this," Makoto replied with solemn earnestness. "The name you give a child is very important. It's going to be their identity for their entire life. The wrong name can handicap a child from the start."

"You really think so?" Serenity asked. Makoto could immediately see the pressure mount on the Queen's slender shoulders.

"But hey, Hon', you've got seven months yet to think of one," she counseled. "It's not like you have to pick one by tomorrow."

"That just gives me more time to second guess myself," sighed Serenity. "Why did you choose the name Akiko?"

"It just sounded right," Makoto shrugged. "I figure it was mother's intuition."

"Ami-Chan says that's a myth."

"Ames doesn't know everything, just most things," smirked Makoto. "I am a firm believer in mother's intuition. Why did you choose Kousagi for your, um, . . .you know."

"It just sounded right," Serenity chuckled. "But that doesn't help me now. I'm not the mother."

"You'll figure it out," Makoto proclaimed. "You've got seven months."

"I'll probably need all seven, too," whimpered Serenity.

The gate opened and the first of two palace cars discharged its passenger. Fourteen year old Akiko sauntered through the front gate and into the atrium. She smiled at Serenity.

"Hi, Auntie Usagi," Akiko said.

"Hi, Akiko-Chan!" Serenity squealed. She wrapped her arms around the teen and kissed her cheek. Akiko endured it, but couldn't work the smile off of her face. Serenity passed her off to Makoto. The mood between them was civil, but with an undercurrent of tension.

"Hey, Mom," Akiko nodded. "Sakura, Grace and I were going to go see a movie tonight."

Makoto willed herself calm. "Homework?"

"It'll be done before dinner," Akiko replied.

"What movie and where?"

"'Blossoms of Autumn' at the Sunrise." Makoto began, but Akiko stopped her. "And yes, we'll have our phones and yes we'll be back by ten."

"Have fun," Makoto sighed. "If it's really late, Sakura and Grace can stay over."

"I'll tell them," Akiko said as she headed up for the residence. Makoto felt Serenity's hand on her shoulder.

"You handled that well, Mako-Chan," Serenity said.

"Then why do I keep thinking the worst will happen?" Makoto sighed.

The second contingent entered the palace: Eleven year old Ichiro, nine year old Yuri and eight year old Setsuko. Serenity flew over and kissed Ichiro on the cheek, while he ground his teeth, then pounced on her two adoptive children. Makoto smiled at Ichiro, draped her arm around him and escorted the boy up the stairs.

After dinner, Endymion retired to the next room to speak privately with a government minister on current affairs concerning North Korea. He could be heard on the phone talking with the man, but no one could quite make out what was said. Setsuko watched a game show on television where two contestants were alternately publicly humiliated for cash prizes. Yuri was sitting at a table with Serenity and Luna, watching his adoptive mother puzzle over a form he'd brought home from school.

"I'm sorry, Yuri-Chan," the Queen mumbled as she stared at the paper. "I don't understand any of this. You're not in trouble, are you?"

"It's a parental consent form to allow Yuri to compete on his elementary school's soccer team," Luna sighed impatiently, "Your Majesty."

"I TOLD you about that!" Serenity fumed at the little cat. She got withering disdain in return.

"You and Mamoru-Papa have to sign it before they'll allow me to be on the team," Yuri added.

"Well of course I'll sign!" cooed the Queen. "And I'll be at every game, cheering you on! I just know you'll be the best quarterback on the field!"

"Wrong sport, Your Majesty," Luna said sourly. Yuri rolled his eyes. By now he was used to it.

"Don't you have other people to annoy?" growled Serenity.

Just then, the buzzer signaled that someone was at the door. Since the guards had passed the person through, it obviously wasn't a threat. Still Luna accompanied Serenity as the Queen got up and glided over to the door.

"Sanoko-Chan!" Serenity gasped happily.

Yuri and Setsuko glanced over and found their mother's fellow manga artist. Sanoko was unchanged from before: short black hair with a violet streak, wearing rumpled jeans and a leather jacket against the coming fall, her feet clad in Doc Marten boots. Under her arm was a portfolio of art.

"Hi, Sem - - um, Serenity," Sanoko grinned. She drew a quick pout from the Queen. "Brought in the pages from Chapter 53."

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Serenity lunged for the portfolio and opened it. Her smile grew exponentially.

"I know where the 'fridge is," Sanoko quipped. On the way to score a Diet Coke, the woman waved at Yuri and Setsuko. When she returned, Setsuko was waiting for her.

"Look at what I did, Sanoko-San!" Setsuko said, proudly offering up a drawing on paper.

"You're getting better," Sanoko nodded as she looked over the drawing. "I like the perspective. But you still need to work on your anatomy."

"Anatomy's hard," scowled Setsuko.

"Tell me about it," chuckled Sanoko. She glanced over at Yuri. "How's life, Yuri-Kun?"

The boy responded with a very shy shrug.

"Oh, Sanoko-Chan, my art is so much better after you ink it!" sighed Serenity.

"High praise," Sanoko replied. "I think I learn something new every time I do one of your pages. Speaking of which, you got anything for me?"

Serenity scampered over to a shelf. "These just came back from my letterer! It's fate, Sanoko-Chan!"

"Or good timing," she replied and smirked at the kids. They smirked back. "I'll have these back in a week - - unless I get engrossed in the story again. Or we get invaded by space aliens or something."

"Don't jinx things," Serenity told her.

"You got something else for me?" Sanoko asked in good humor.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry! Endymion, could you pay Sanoko-Chan?"

"Pardon me for a moment, Minister," Endymion said over the phone. He then swiped at his phone several times, then pressed the screen. "Funds are transferred!"

Instantly Sanoko's phone pinged. She looked at it and smiled.

"Solvent for another week," Sanoko grinned.

"Um, Sanoko-Chan," Serenity began, "would you like to have some dinner? It's no problem at all!"

Sanoko seemed amused. "Starving artist is just a cliche, Serenity. I may live check to check, but I am able to afford meals."

"I'm sorry! It's just," Serenity mumbled, "you're so thin."

"Now you sound like my Mom," chuckled the artist. "See you in a week, Serenity. And thanks for the Diet Coke."

After the door closed, the Queen emitted a sigh of frustration. She turned and nearly tripped over Luna.

"I suppose you're going to criticize me for being too personal," fussed Serenity.

"On the contrary," Luna commented. "She is too thin."

"Don't be catty," Serenity admonished. Then she grew a wide grin. "Oh, I always wanted to say that!"

Luna scowled.

* * *

At the main police headquarters in Chiyoda-Ku, Superintendent Natsuna Sakurada sat at her desk going over budget appropriations for the coming fiscal quarter. Out of all the jobs she'd had to perform in her twenty-nine years on the Tokyo Metro Police Force, this was probably the one she liked the least - - and that included the time a drunk vomited in the back of her police car when she was a beat officer. As such, any distraction was secretly welcomed by the stylish head of the department. A tapered finger with an attractively lacquered nail pressed a button on the intercom in response to its signal.

"There's a detective inspector from I.C.P.O. here to see you, Superintendent," came the report.

"Interpol?" Sakurada wondered privately. "What could they want?"

When she buzzed him through, Sakurada wasn't quite expecting what arrived. The man was tall and gaunt, with a grim, business-like expression on his face. Clearly Japanese, he wore a rumpled wide-brim hat atop thick black hair, and sideburns that were carelessly tended to and fifty years out of date. His dark suit was cheap and rumpled. His tan raincoat was old and rumpled. His shoes were cheap and functional.

For a moment, Sakurada expected him to comment on her being a woman in a position of authority. Instead, to her surprise, he saluted her crisply and obediently. When she realized that he would continue saluting until she acknowledged it, Sakurada returned the salute and gestured him to a chair.

"Forgive me, Superintendent-Sama," he replied in a gravely voice. "I prefer to stand. I've come to warn you of an impending threat to the King and Queen of Japan."

"Oh?" Sakurada replied, looking him over because for some reason she still couldn't quite believe him.

"I.C.P.O. has received intel that Lupin the Third intends to strike here in Tokyo at the Crystal Palace." And the man waited for the gravity of his words to sink in.

"Who?" Sakurada asked.

"Lupin the Third!" exclaimed the man. "The single greatest menace to law-abiding society in the world! The man is wanted in over fifty countries! Don't tell me you haven't heard of him! What kind of a police department are you running?"

Sakurada stared at the man for a moment, at once annoyed by his manner and curious about his vehemence. She turned to her desktop computer.

"Lupin, you say?" she asked, typing in the name. "And your name was?"

"Inspector Zenigata, Ma'am," he replied crisply.

"Well I can't find anything in records or warrants for a 'Lupin the Third'," Sakurada said, "either locally or internationally. Does he go by any known aliases . . ."

"He's managed to erase himself from the police data banks!" exclaimed Zenigata. "Well it's not going to help you, Lupin! I'm still on your trail and I'll always be on your trail!"

"Inspector," Sakurada began, surreptitiously signaling for back up as she spoke, "if you'll just sit down, we can discuss . . ."

"I don't have time!" Zenigata roared. "Lupin's trail gets colder by the second! Thank you for your time, Superintendent-Sama, but I'll pursue him alone if I have to!"

Spinning a pair of handcuffs on his index finger, the man in the rumpled raincoat ran out of her office. When Sakurada got to the door, she looked down the hall, but the man was gone. Sakurada stood for a moment and wondered if she'd hallucinated the entire event.

Then she went over to her desk and put in a call to her friend, Minako Aino.

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. Crime Of The Century

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 2: "Crime Of The Century"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"How are you coming, Artemis?"

Minako Aino, technically Minako Hiroyuki, stood over the white cat as he worked on a computer laptop. Though she didn't realize it, the gesture made Artemis extremely uncomfortable. The unpredictable woman was capable of anything and he didn't like being within striking distance when conveying bad news.

"Nothing so far," he sighed.

"Yeah, that figures," Minako frowned. "When he wants to disappear, you need a team of bloodhounds to find him."

"Mina, maybe Ace is gone," Artemis suggested.

"He's not," Minako replied with a steely eye. "He's out there - - waiting."

"It's been over a year since you married Tatsuo."

"So? How long did he take to work his way up to owning that movie studio? Time doesn't matter to Ace. Just results."

"Are you obsessing about that ex of your again?" Tatsuo asked. He was leaning against a door frame, his arms folded over his chest.

"I'm not obsessing!" Minako barked.

"Artemis, what has she got you doing?"

"Combing reports from around the world for some sign of Ace's location," Artemis replied. "News reports, police reports, census reports, government records, anything; if it mentions Ace, I download it."

"And?"

"Well, I've got enough reports on poker tournaments to consider entering one," the cat quipped.

"How would you hold your cards, cat?" huffed Minako.

"But nothing on Ace?" Tatsuo concluded.

"Nothing I'd consider concrete," Artemis shrugged. "I pulled up stories about crimes from several different countries that fit Ace's M.O."

"See!" Minako exclaimed.

"And a couple hundred other criminals," Artemis finished.

"Mina," Tatsuo sighed and gathered his wife in his arms. "I'll say it again: I think you're taking this a little too far. It's been over a year and you won't let it go."

"I can't let it go! He's out there!" Minako maintained.

"Sometimes I wonder if you want him to show up again," her husband said.

"That's the last thing I want!" howled his wife. "I'm happy!"

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Tat-Chan, you don't know him like I do! He's already busted up every relationship I've ever had! I don't want him to bust up this one!"

"Mina," Tatsuo said, disappointment coloring his words, "did he bust up every relationship you've ever had? Or did your obsession with him drive them all away?"

Minako looked up at him, hurt. Then she put her head against his chest.

"You don't know, Tat-Chan," she whispered. Then her phone went off. "Damn it. Minako Aino, star of stage, screen, and recordings. Oh, hi, Superintendent. What's up? Something cooking or you just trying to bum concert tickets?"

"I just had a very strange visit from an Interpol agent," she heard Superintendent Sakurada say, "who claims a master thief is planning to steal something from the Crystal Palace."

"That's interesting," Minako replied, silently signaling Artemis to tap the conversation and record it. "Does this master thief have a name?"

"He said it was Lupin the Third," Sakurada reported, "but I can't find any record of any criminal by that name."

"Ha!" Minako burst out laughing. "That's rich! Was the guy from Interpol named Zenigata?"

"Yes, it was," Sakurada replied seriously. "Do you know him, V-Chan?"

"Rumpled raincoat? Wide brim hat? Looks like he stepped out of a sixties crime drama?"

"Yes!"

"Wow, what some people will do to pull off a practical joke," chuckled Minako.

"A joke?" exclaimed Sakurada.

"Superintendent, Lupin the Third is a very old, very famous manga and anime. That guy must have been cos-playing as Zenigata."

"Well I'm sorry for involving you, V-Chan," Sakurada said. "You'll excuse me; I have to discipline a few staff around here." And she severed the connection. Minako shook her head, smiling.

"What?" Tatsuo inquired.

"Apparently we're the next target of," and Minako broke up laughing, "of Lupin the Third! Oh, I have to tell the girls this one!" And out the door she flew.

"Well, that's one way to avoid the question," Tatsuo sighed. Artemis gave him a sympathetic look.

* * *

Rei Hino sat in Ami Mizuno-Fujihara's office in the palace, patiently enduring an examination from the doctor. Ami was personal physician to all of the inner and outer Senshi, because she was the best, because they trusted her, and because she was very convenient. Given the intimate turn the exam had taken, Rei thanked the gods that Ami was the one doing it. The priest was a very private person and anymore Ami was about the only person in the universe she trusted "down there".

"Everything looks quite normal," Ami pronounced once she was finished with the physical part of the exam. "I'll know more after the blood work is finished. So, any problems? Aches? Pains? Unusual changes in your physical or mental state?"

"Nothing mental," Rei replied. "Serenity saw to that."

"You don't feel any lingering effects from your captivity any longer?"

"No. I remember it, but it just seems like a bad dream now. And it has been four years, Ami," Rei confessed. "I don't like the fact that I wasn't able to get over it on my own. But Serenity did help me - - and it's good to have my sight back."

"I will admit that I'm not very comfortable with Serenity's ability to manipulate human thought," Ami said. "But I suppose if it is used benignly, it can be a tool to help people."

"And you don't get much more benign than her," Rei smirked.

"True," Ami nodded. "So, any physical problems?"

"Well," Rei began. "No, it's nothing."

"Let me be the judge of that," Ami said gently.

"Well," sighed the priest. "My knees ache a little bit, usually at the end of the day. I'm probably doing too much."

"Perhaps," Ami replied seriously, but Rei read her concerns. "I'd like to do an x-ray of the knees, if that's all right."

"Arthritis? Ami, I'm only thirty-nine!"

"Perhaps you should read ALL of my concerns instead of just one word," Ami countered. "Arthritis is a possibility. While it isn't common in someone as young as you are, it can happen. In your profession, you do spend a lot of time on your knees. It might cause acceleration in the deterioration of the cartilage. I'd like to investigate further, if only to rule the condition out. That's why I want to take x-rays to see if there is any deterioration."

"I'm being disagreeable again, right?" Rei asked sheepishly.

"It's good to question initial diagnoses," Ami told her. "If a physician can't rationally justify their prognosis, perhaps it was flawed to begin with. I don't mind the scrutiny." She wrote something down on Rei's chart. "Was there any onset of arthritis in your family history?"

"Not so you'd notice with Grandpa, especially when there were women around," Rei replied. That drew a smile from Ami. "I do remember him complaining about his feet, though."

"And your father?"

"I wouldn't know."

Ami looked at her friend.

"Perhaps you should find out," she suggested. "Estrangement from a parent can seem like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight it only seems like a waste of precious time. And I'm speaking from experience."

"And there are some things you can't forgive," Rei replied. "And I'm speaking from experience."

* * *

The clock was nearing one p.m. and Queen Serenity's favorite part of the day was approaching: her daily meet and greet with the public. Focused on her destination, the Queen glided down the hall, with Sailor Jupiter a step behind her. There was always one Senshi present in addition to the palace security, at Endymion's insistence. Today was Jupiter's turn.

"Akiko got back all right last night, didn't she?" Serenity asked as they made their way to the Royal Receiving Room.

"A little after ten," Jupiter replied. "You'd be so proud of me. I didn't call Tokyo Police at 10:01."

"See, I knew you could do it," Serenity smirked. "And I knew Akiko-Chan would do the right thing. She's a very grounded girl."

"I trust her," Jupiter protested, "mostly. It's the world I don't trust. And Akiko can be a little on the impulsive side."

"Name someone who wasn't at that age."

"Ami."

"Name someone else," Serenity replied.

"Oh, you mean like someone who disguised herself as a tour guide and boarded a bus being hijacked to another dimension with no way of knowing how she was going to get back?"

"That was before you joined up!"

"Rei and I trade stories," Jupiter shrugged.

"What else did she tell you?" Serenity scowled. "No, I don't want to know."

Pausing at the door to get herself back in "Queen" mood, Serenity opened the door and glided in. The guards nodded and the citizens queued in line grew excited. Serenity sat down on a simple chair, while Luna sat to the right of the chair and Jupiter took her place behind and to her left. The first guest was a woman and her daughter of five.

"Hello!" beamed Serenity as the child approached. "Aren't you just the cutest girl I've ever seen!" And it was all the child could do to keep from squealing out loud.

The session went on like that: Serenity charming each guest, working with them on any problems they brought to her or enchanting those who just wanted to meet her. As usual, Luna had to remind Serenity of the time limit each guest had in order to accommodate everyone lined up; otherwise Serenity would have been there all day.

Midway through the session, an old woman in a ceremonial kimono hobbled up to the Queen. She was escorted by a man with a gray beard, shabby clothing and a wide-brim hat pulled down over his eyes. The woman seemed so feeble that Serenity began to rise out of her chair to cut the distance between them.

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry for alarming you, Queen Serenity," croaked the old woman. "Please don't get up on my account."

"It's quite all right, Oba-San!" exclaimed Serenity as the man with the old woman braced her. "Would you like a chair?"

"No, no, if I sit down, I'm afraid I might not be able to get back up! Heh, heh, heh," she chuckled. Jupiter looked on sympathetically.

"Excuse me," Luna ventured, "but is that men's cologne I smell?"

"Must be mine," the male companion replied in a deep gravelly voice.

"Please, Oba-San! Take my chair!" Serenity said and reached for the woman's hand.

"Um, Your Majesty, we discussed this," Luna interjected. "After the details of Perun's Thunderbolt became known."

"Nonsense, Luna," fussed the Queen. "And don't call me Your Majesty!"

Serenity took the frail woman's hand and immediately withdrew it in pain. She stared at her palm for a moment.

"Oh, I apologize," the old woman tried to bow. "Did you catch your palm on my wedding ring? It has a rough edge to it."

"No harm done," Serenity smiled. "Now was there something I could do for you, Oba-San?"

"Well," the woman began, "it's my son here. He's had a very difficult time recently and I was wondering if you could help him. He can't seem to find a good job."

"Well I'll see what I can do," Serenity began. Luna looked at her. The Queen seemed a little confused. "What is he skilled at?"

"Oh, burglary, breaking and entering, driving getaway cars," the old woman enumerated. "And he's a very good marksman."

"The best," grunted her son.

"What?" Serenity replied.

At once, Serenity seemed to go limp. Jupiter lunged for her, but the old woman demonstrated surprising speed and agility and caught her before she hit the floor. The crowd gasped.

Then a man in a rumpled raincoat pushed through the queued crowd. The guards moved to stop his charge.

"LUPIN!" Zenigata bellowed, waiving a pair of handcuffs.

"Pops!" the old woman chuckled as she turned to him, Serenity still in her arms.

"Supreme . . .!" Jupiter began to snarl.

But from his jacket, the son produced a Smith & Wesson Model 19 combat revolver, something that should have been impossible given the security restrictions of the palace. As Jupiter spoke, the man pointed, aimed and squeezed off one shot. The shot hit the lightning rod that had extended from Jupiter's tiara and whipped it from her head. Jupiter staggered back from the force of the shot.

By now the old lady had pulled off the wig and makeup appliances from her face and revealed herself to be Lupin the Third. The guards shifted their attention from Zenigata to Lupin and rushed him as the crowd stampeded out of the room. Lupin raised his hand and slammed something on the floor. The flash grenade exploded upon contact and threw out a blinding light that stopped everyone in their tracks. When their sight cleared, Lupin and his companion, Daisuke Jigen, were gone with the Queen.

"SECURITY!" Luna screamed into the communications device that had extended from her collar. "The Queen is being abducted! This is a Priority One security alert! Lock down the palace at once!"

As turmoil overtook the Crystal Palace, Lupin and Jigen barreled up a flight of stairs, Lupin carrying the unconscious Queen in his arms.

"She's very light," Lupin remarked. He was now in his familiar blue jacket, black shirt and white slacks. "Pretty, too."

"Keep your mind on your work," Jigen grumbled.

"She's not my type," chuckled Lupin.

"No, your type has boobs the size of soccer balls." Jigen glanced back down the stairs. "You know where we're going?"

"Cafeteria," Lupin replied.

"I'm not hungry," Jigen grunted.

"No guards in the cafeteria," Lupin told him.

"Any windows?"

"As a matter of fact," Lupin began, but the pair stopped. Between them and the cafeteria stood King Endymion. He wore his black armor and he didn't look happy. "You must be the man of the house."

"I'm giving you until the count of one to surrender," Endymion rumbled. He drew his sword. "One."

But as he charged, another figure stepped in front of him from the Cafeteria. Expertly Goemon Ishikawa blocked Endymion's charge as he locked swords with the monarch. Endymion pushed to no avail, then backed up a step to try to go around him. That proved to be a mistake as Goemon lunged forward and swung his sword. Endymion suddenly found himself holding a sword hilt. Goemon swung three more times, each one intended to force Endymion backwards. After the third swing, Lupin and Jigen bolted into the cafeteria. Endymion drew three roses and flung them at Goemon, but each rose was deflected by a sword swing. Goemon swung his leg and knocked Endymion down, then turned and retreated into the Cafeteria.

"Once more I have cut something unworthy," muttered Goemon.

He, Lupin and Jigen bolted for the main window of the cafeteria as patrons scattered. Without slowing down, Lupin hurled himself at the window, the Queen still in his arms, and crashed through it. Jigen and Goemon followed. Endymion peered over the ledge and saw the trio had landed in a landscaping truck that had smuggled Goemon in and were now speeding away. Endymion stepped onto the ledge to give chase. But his foot struck a booby-trap. Something exploded with a large pop, and the King fell back. Dangling from the window frame were streamers and a banner with a grinning caricature of Lupin the Third.

Angrily the King ripped the banner from its place and threw it to the floor. Just then Jupiter ran up.

"Did they get away?" she gasped.

"Alert Tokyo Police," Endymion replied in a clipped manner. "And tell Luna to find out how Security let a loaded gun into this palace." Then he climbed onto the window sill and leaped out into space.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. The Prize Of Great Price

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 3: "The Prize Of Great Price"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Rei Hino burst from Ami Mizuno-Fujihara's office in the palace at a dead run. Closely behind her, Ami followed as best she could.

"What is it, Rei?" Ami shouted at the fleeing priest. Palace workers dived out of the way because Rei wasn't stopping.

"MARS MILLENNIUM POWER MAKE UP!" Rei shouted. She transformed in stride and continued for the stairs.

Seeing Rei transform, Ami summoned her henshin stick and transformed into Sailor Mercury while trying to keep pace with Rei. Though her friend had said nothing, Mercury inferred from her intense reaction that Rei had sensed some calamity, probably directed at Queen Serenity. Sailor Mars was already at the top of the stairs when Mercury began to ascend them. A broadcast on her Senshi Communicator confirmed Mercury's inference.

"THIS IS A PRIORITY ONE ALERT!" she heard Luna broadcast. "HER MAJESTY HAS BEEN ABDUCTED! ALL SENSHI, CONVERGE ON THE DINING AREA IMMEDIATELY!"

By the time Mercury had reached the top of the stairs, Mars was half way down the hall, sutras in her right hand. But Sailor Jupiter emerged from the cafeteria and stopped them.

"They've already escaped!" Jupiter shouted. "Endymion's giving chase! We've got to get to them!" She burst past Mars, headed toward Mercury. "We'll use my car!"

As the three Senshi rode the locked off elevator down to the palace garage, Mercury could see the anxiety in her teammates' faces.

"What happened, Jupiter?" Mercury asked, trying to both gain information in order to formulate a plan and focus Jupiter and Mars away from their fears.

"This guy," Jupiter babbled. "He came in dressed like an old lady! He drugged Serenity! Him and his partner ran off with her! They escaped through the cafeteria! Jumped onto a truck!"

"There are two perpetrators?"

"Three," Jupiter shook her head. "A third one was waiting for them. He jumped Endymion. He had a sword!"

"Was anyone hurt?" Mercury asked. Jupiter shook her head. "Jupiter, your tiara is damaged!"

"The second guy," Jupiter spoke through clenched teeth. "Shot it off my head before I could zap him!"

"Are you injured?" Mercury gasped.

"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT NOW!" Jupiter barked.

The elevator reached the garage floor and opened. Sailor Venus was waiting for them.

"Luna sent me down here!" Venus exclaimed. "What's this about Serenity being snatched?"

"Get in the car!" Mars said curtly. "We'll fill you in."

On the road, Jupiter drove like a woman possessed, narrowly avoiding two accidents. Mercury sat beside her, tapping on her Senshi Computer, while Mars and Venus sat in the back. Mars gave Venus a quick rundown of what they knew.

"Hey, Mercury," Venus said upon hearing the details. "Can you get me a visual of what happened? I know Endymion just had the palace wired for video."

"Let me try to tap in to the security cameras," Mercury replied, again working on her Senshi Computer. "Do you have inferences into this incident that have escaped the rest of us?"

"Maybe. I'm getting familiar vibes about this," Venus said, her demeanor the furthest thing from flighty and fun-loving. "Pair that with a weird phone call I got from Superintendent Sakurada - - but no, it can't be."

"Here," Mercury said, handing over her computer to Venus in the back seat. "This is surveillance footage from the Royal Receiving Room."

Venus looked at the computer and went pale.

"What, Blondie?" Jupiter demanded as she drove.

"It's him," Venus whispered. Mars' eyes popped. "It's Lupin the Third. A-And that's Jigen."

"You're familiar with this man?" Mercury asked.

"He's an anime character," Mars said, reading Venus as she spoke, "come to life."

* * *

At Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters, the entire building was buzzing with the emergency. All duty personnel not already responding to a call were converging on a section of Minato-Ku, directed there by the Palace. At the head of the command center in the police building was Superintendent Sakurada. She stood in the center of the room, taking in images from traffic cameras, processing police radio dispatches and directing her forces. Her cool, steady hand was why the members of the force under her respected her so much.

"We're getting reports of," a police dispatcher announced, "a man leaping from rooftop to rooftop in the business district."

"It's probably King Endymion," mused one of the people on the traffic camera board.

"Can we confirm that?" Sakurada demanded. "I don't want our perps escaping because we made assumptions."

"There!" pointed one of the camera monitors. "It's the King, all right!"

"Still headed toward the docks," Sakurada observed. "We're still in the right area. Close the perimeter."

"How does he know?" wondered one of the monitor workers.

"Probably the red string," sighed another one of the monitor workers.

"Anyone get sight of that landscaping truck?" Sakurada demanded.

"Nothing," her monitor room supervisor reported. "They may have ditched it."

"If that's the case, find it! Otherwise operate under the premise that they're still in it."

"We don't have as much optical coverage in the dock area as we do in the business district, Superintendent," the supervisor said.

"What about the helicopters?"

"Converging, but they haven't spotted them yet."

"Superintendent, we're receiving a text from the Palace," an officer exclaimed. "It has pictures of the three perps. We're bringing it up on the central monitor now."

"Download this to all units," Sakurada commanded. The picture from the Royal Receiving Room came up on the screen.

"What?" gasped one of the monitor officers. "But that's Lupin the Third! He's an anime character!"

"He's apparently real enough to abduct the Queen," Sakurada replied sternly. "So stick to procedure. Don't slack off because of who or what he is."

"B-But how?"

"These days?" Sakurada said. "You've seen sinister circuses, fifty meter ice giants and stone statues come to life, and you're questioning this?"

"Do," another monitor officer turned to her and began haltingly, "do you think he'll kill her? The Queen, I mean?"

"Nah! Lupin's a gentleman thief," another officer answered. "He's not going to just kill her."

"That's the anime Lupin," another, older officer said. "The manga Lupin, in the early days, wasn't above shooting anyone who got in his way." He thought a moment. "Although, since the Queen is a woman, he might . . ."

"Enough talk! Concentrate on your monitors! And patch me through to the helicopter squadron! I want to know what's going on!"

* * *

Lupin and Jigen stood by the landscaping truck, tucked in a dark alley near the docks, and watched Goemon sprint off toward the bay, the limp form of the Queen in his arms. Lupin put a cigarette in his mouth, then reached over and took the cigarette from Jigen's mouth to use as a light. He offered the smoke back to his partner and Jigen took it back in his mouth.

"You sure you want to do this?" Jigen asked, the cigarette bobbing on his lip.

"The last man in the world you have to worry about with a helpless beauty is Goemon," smirked Lupin.

"I mean we might have been able to use her as a hostage if this thing goes south," Jigen scowled.

"You are familiar with Queen Serenity, aren't you?" Lupin asked as he began to move in the direction opposite the one Goemon took. "What she can do? Once that drug wears off, we wouldn't be able to use her as anything against her will. And that's assuming her husband didn't find us first."

"Well, you have always been allergic to husbands walking in when you're with their wives," chuckled Jigen as he followed.

"Story of my life," Lupin grinned.

"So if we're not ransoming the Queen, why snatch her?"

"What do you see in this hand?" Lupin asked, holding up his left hand.

"Nothing," grunted Jigen, for Lupin's hand was indeed empty.

"That's because the gun's in this hand," Lupin replied, raising his right hand. He was holding his traditional Luger automatic in the hand.

"This have anything to do with those pictures you snapped when we toured that tech firm?" Jigen asked. "If so, I'd like to know what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Just being a lookout this time," Lupin smiled. "I'll be doing all the grunt work."

"This going to be worth it?"

"Conservatively? Three hundred million Euros to start with," Lupin told him. "And with any luck, we'll be in and out with no trouble at all."

"Assuming Pops doesn't show up," Jigen added.

"Don't jinx things," Lupin leered at him. They turned down another alley. Jigen stopped and smiled.

"Well, it's old home week," he chuckled. Parked in the alley was a yellow 1957 Fiat 500 special edition.

* * *

"How hard is it to find a landscaping truck?" gasped Venus.

The Inner Senshi, in Jupiter's car, were still careening through traffic, headed in the general direction King Endymion was heading. Endymion was being tracked back at the Palace by Luna and Artemis, who were relaying directions to them. At an intersection, Jupiter executed a sharp right turn. The tires squealed and centrifugal force threatened to flip the car on its side.

"Get us there in one piece, Jupe!" Venus exclaimed.

"We've got to get to Serenity!" Jupiter snapped back. "Before those two goons can hurt her! If you don't like it, Blondie, get out and walk!"

"And you guys complain about MY driving," snorted Venus.

"It's possible that they were able to disguise the truck," suggested Mercury. "I don't see how in the limited time they had, but Endymion's path indicates that Serenity's location is still further on." She stared at her computer screen. "I wonder what this man's objective is."

"It's to grab, Serenity! What else could it be?" Jupiter exclaimed.

"To what end? And to do it so openly."

"That's kind of his thing," Venus told her.

"But his plan has little chance of succeeding," Mercury argued. "Given the police pursuit, the media scrutiny, plus our pursuit and Endymion's, how could he possibly succeed if his objective is to hold onto Serenity, either permanently or to ransom her off?"

"You think it's a feint?" gasped Mars.

"I'm beginning to suspect it," Mercury frowned. "It's classic misdirection, much the way stage magicians draw the attention to one hand so the other can perform the trick."

Mercury stopped and read something on her computer screen.

"The police have found the landscaping truck," she announced. "There's no sign of either Serenity or the suspects."

"Now what?" Mars asked anxiously.

"We keep following Endymion," Jupiter replied. "He's our best way to find Serenity now."

"JUPE, STOP THE CAR!" Venus shouted suddenly.

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Jupiter responded.

"I SAW THEM!" Venus yelled back.

The car skidded to a stop. Venus was twisted around in the back seat, staring out of the rear window.

"Are you sure?" Mars asked.

"Trust me! It was Lupin and Jigen! And they were driving the yellow 1957 Fiat 500 special edition! The one they drove in 'Castle of Cagliostro'!"

"Castle of WHAT?" Mars gasped.

"Lupin's second movie! The one by Miyazaki? Honestly, Mars, you need to get out of that shrine more often!" Venus responded. "Trust the otaku on this! It was them!" Jupiter glanced at Mercury.

"Doubling back on the pursuit would make sense," Mercury said.

Jupiter instantly gunned the car and made a u-turn through traffic, headed in the direction Venus sent her.

"But Endymion's still going in the other direction!" Mars protested.

"Which means she's either with the third perpetrator or a fourth confederate," Mercury concluded. "And this Lupin's real target is somewhere else. We have to trust that Endymion will save her. And I'm beginning to suspect that Serenity is in no real danger. So we have a chance to apprehend these criminals and make certain there are no further attempts."

"I hope you're right, Mercury," Jupiter sighed, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"I hope I am, too," Mercury replied, betraying some of her fears as well.

* * *

The cloaked figure stormed through the district, his mission firm in his mind and first in his heart. Distances between rooftops paled to unimportance and were easily covered. King Endymion had to save the love of his life and the antidote to his loneliness.

When he reached the business district and the buildings grew too high to leap to, Endymion would leap on top of a passing bus or car and hitch a ride. As he passed, pedestrians would stop and point.

"It's the King!" they gasped.

By now everyone had heard the police sirens echoing through the district. They'd seen the police vehicles roaring through traffic in the general direction of the harbor. A few were connected enough through social media or the news channels to know what was going on. Most just associated the sound of sirens with a growing emergency. Now to see King Endymion bounding through traffic, leaping from car to car because they moved too slowly for his needs, well that was further indication that Tokyo might once more be in the grip of some menace or disaster.

"I wonder what it is?" wondered one onlooker.

"Maybe it's the Ice Giants again!" worried another. While the Ice Giants were four years in the past, they still weighed heavily on many minds.

"Where is the Queen?" a third openly wondered. "Where are the Senshi?"

Finally Endymion landed atop a police car and rode it through traffic until they reached the harbor. Dock workers stared in wonder and alarm as the King leaped from the stopping police car, somersaulted in midair and landed on his feet. For them it was the first time they had seen the dashing monarch, in his gray tuxedo and billowing cape, and they were impressed by the regal figure he portrayed.

"Your Majesty," a police commander said as he approached. "The entire area is cordoned off. They can't escape. We plan to institute a building by building search until . . ."

"No," Endymion said to him, expecting to be obeyed. "I'll find her. You and your forces keep this area bottled up. Nobody goes in. Nobody goes out. Do you have coverage in the bay?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the commander replied. "Harbor Patrol has the area swarmed."

"Very good," Endymion nodded.

He took a moment to recapture his sense of Serenity. Turning, he headed for one of the dock offices at a dead run. At the door to the building, Endymion tried the door.

It wasn't locked. Cautiously entering, Endymion found a first floor warehouse space that was at the moment empty. His sense of Serenity made him look up. On his right, there was a stairway to a second floor.

Ascending the stairs, Endymion could feel Serenity getting nearer. He was close. He felt no distress from her and assumed that she was still drugged. At the top of the stairs was a door to, he assumed, an office for the warehouse. A gloved hand reached for the knob, then stopped. Endymion palmed his walking stick in his left hand and drew three roses from his vest with his right hand. Using the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, Endymion turned the knob, then pushed the door opened. When no shot rang out, he stepped in and looked around.

Serenity was on the far side of the room, laying on an ornate canopied bed of European origin. She lay on the bed, still asleep, her arms folded across her middle and looking for the world like Snow White. Quickly Endymion crossed the room and took her hand in his. Serenity's pulse was strong and there were no external signs of injury. The King breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Hello, King Endymion," came a female voice from behind him. "We've been waiting for you."

Endymion whirled, the roses ready to throw. Standing by the door was a woman with thick brown hair and a red dress that molded itself to a stunningly curvaceous body. Her eyes were large and playful, but with a hint of deceit. Her nose and cheekbones were perfect and her lips smiled easily and beckoned. Impossibly long legs emerged from beneath the dress and ended elegantly in red heels. The woman exuded sex appeal, but it was like a Venus Flytrap enticing a fly.

"Who are you?" demanded Endymion. "Where's Lupin?"

"None of that's important now," the woman, one Fujiko Mine, replied, her voice like an exclamation of desire. "You're here. She's waiting. Kiss her and wake her up, Prince Charming."

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. The Real Target

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 4: "The Real Target"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"You're going the wrong direction," Artemis said over the Senshi communicator. "King Endymion is on the docks."

"We're pursuing a lead, Artemis," came the reply from Minako.

"Stop trying to sound like some police drama!" the white cat retorted.

"Shove it, Cat!" Minako barked back. "We spotted Lupin and we're going after him!"

Artemis and Luna exchanged uncertain glances.

"If you think it's best," Artemis replied. "Be careful."

"Hey, who was Sailor V here?" came the indignant response.

"Two words, 'Sailor V' - - booby-trapped garage," Artemis said.

"That's three words," grumbled Venus.

"Technically, 'booby-trapped' is hyphenated . . ." they heard Mercury begin.

"Really don't care!" huffed Venus. The cats shook their heads.

"Luna?" a muffled boy's voice was heard on the other side of the door. Luna and Artemis recognized it as Yuri. The boy sounded distressed. The black cat jumped to the floor and came over. In the hall, she found Yuri struggling with his anxiety.

"Yuri-Kun?" Luna asked the boy. "You really shouldn't be wandering about like this. You'll be much safer in the Royal Chambers. Come along." And she began to lead the boy back to the Royal Chambers.

"Is Usagi-Mama going to be all right?" Yuri asked. The quaver in his voice was evident. Luna looked back at him.

"Your Mum is quite capable of handling herself, Yuri-Kun," Luna assured him. "She's survived countless threats against her and triumphed. Don't let her unprofessional bearing fool you. Your Mum has the courage of a lion and the heart of a champion. She will come back to you."

"It's just," Yuri struggled to begin, "it's only been a year since, well, . . ."

"Of course," Luna said gently. "I understand your fears completely. Setsuko-Chan was the same way when she first came here. Your Mum is a great woman and very powerful. As such, she makes powerful enemies and they will threaten, as people like that are wont to do. It's all right to worry. We all worry when one of her enemies strike. But we must also believe in her ability to triumph. And we must put aside our fears and support her in her efforts to bring a better world to all."

Yuri sighed. "It's not that easy."

"Few things in life are easy," Luna smiled. "We strive for them anyway because the reward is so great. Now come along. Your Mum will want to give you a great big hug when she returns and you must be there or she'll be quite disappointed."

Reluctantly Yuri followed the cat. When they arrived at the Royal Chambers, Setsuko was waiting for him.

"You shouldn't run off like that, Onee-Chan," Setsuko said sternly. "Usagi-Mama would be very upset if you weren't here when she came back."

"Yeah, yeah," sighed Yuri. Luna concealed a smile and headed back for the central operations room.

* * *

Endymion stood and stared at the voluptuous woman, one Fujiko Mine, as she leaned against the door to the stairway. Three roses were in his hand and the King was ready to defend himself. But Fujiko only stood and smiled, her ample chest rising and falling hypnotically.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Fujiko asked as if she knew the effect she and the situation were having on the King. "Be her Prince Charming and wake her up."

"I doubt my kiss will revive her from her drugged state," Endymion replied, his manner humorless and his gaze steely. "All it will do is present my back to you."

"Oh, I'm hurt," Fujiko pouted. "You actually think I'd stab you in the back?"

"Yes."

"Well," Fujiko replied, "I would. But it still hurts that you'd think so."

"Or would you get one of your partners to do it?" Endymion asked. "Lupin or Jigen - - or the one with the sword."

"You insult me," Goemon said, stepping out of the shadows. "I would never strike an opponent from behind. There is no honor."

"But there is honor in kidnapping?" Endymion argued. "What's this all about? What is Lupin after?"

"Dreary questions, and after Lupin went to all the trouble of securing a bed worthy of the Queen to sleep on," Fujiko sighed. She turned to the door. "My job was to sit with the Queen until you showed up. You're here, so I'm going to go."

"Hold it!" Endymion barked and started for her. Instantly Goemon inserted himself between him and Fujiko.

"I am pledged," Goemon warned his opponent, "not as an assassin, as you assumed, but as a guard to see that no misfortune comes to Mine-San."

"Isn't he sweet?" Fujiko smiled.

"I made that pledge to Lupin," Goemon replied sourly. "Otherwise I would let him have you and be well rid of you."

"Oh," pouted Fujiko. She reached over and stroked Goemon's ear with her finger. "We're going to have to work on that." And she minced out the door. Endymion started for her again and again Goemon blocked his path, sword drawn.

"I am pledged only to guard her," Goemon told Endymion. "Take your wife and go, with my apologies for the distress you have been caused. I will not hinder you. But make one move toward Mine-San and we will battle. Choose your path."

* * *

Careening down Tokyo streets, a Toyota mid-size with Sailor Jupiter at the wheel dodged in and out of traffic. She and the three Senshi in the car with her were in pursuit of a 1957 yellow Fiat special edition being driven by Lupin the Third. Horns echoed behind them and tires squealed on turns.

"JUPE!" howled Sailor Venus. "I'm too young to be street pizza!"

"Now you know how we feel when you're driving," muttered Sailor Mars.

"Hey, Mars, you know any prayers for preventing wrecks?" Venus asked.

"What do you think I've been chanting for the last five minutes," Mars replied.

"SHUT UP BACK THERE! YOU MAKE ME NERVOUS!" growled Jupiter.

"WE MAKE YOU NERVOUS?" gasped Venus.

"Mercury, you still got that car on your sensor thing?" Jupiter asked.

"Yes, Jupiter," Sailor Mercury said, her attention focused the entire time. "We're within a block of the car. It doesn't show any signs of slowing down, though."

"Get us within a half block! I'll slow it down!" Venus shouted.

As Jupiter accelerated to even more dangerous speeds, Venus stuck her head and torso out of the back window. Blonde hair whipping behind her, Venus brought her right arm up and pointed at the yellow Fiat while her left hand braced it.

"Crescent Beam!" Venus yelled.

The golden force beam lanced out and struck the left rear wheel straight and true. Shearing the wheel off from the axle completely, Venus caused the car's left rear to slam down onto the pavement as the wheel spun away. The dragging rear end sent the Fiat fish-tailing and the driver slammed to a stop, narrowly avoiding flipping over.

"Hey, they're trying to run!" exclaimed Venus.

"No they're not!" Mars growled. "Burning Mandala!"

Mystic symbols appeared on the street and surrounded the car as the two occupants emerged, then burst into flame. The fire shot up twenty feet into the sky. The occupants scurried back into the car. Jupiter pulled up near the trapped car and the four Senshi emerged. People stood and watched, thrilling to the famed Senshi in action.

"Girl, you got style!" Venus smirked as the Senshi disembarked. Mars flashed her a satisfied grin.

At Mars' command, the flames from the mandala died away. Moments later, Jupiter whipped open the door of the Fiat and dragged the man in the blue jacket and white slacks out by his lapels.

"Thought you were clever, huh?" Jupiter snarled. "Maybe you'd like to dance to a few thousand volts?"

"Hey, no! We surrender!" the man wailed. Mars held her flaming bow on the other one. Then Venus came over.

"Hold on, Jupe," Venus scowled. She reached up and pulled some of the disguise appliances from the suspect's face. "He's a fake. They both are."

"How did you know?" Mercury gasped.

"As many films as I've done?" Venus replied. "I can spot appliance makeup. And I can smell the spirit gum."

"ALL RIGHT, WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?" barked Jupiter, her tiara beginning to crackle with electricity.

"A guy paid us ten thousand yen to wear this and take a joyride in his car!" the man hastily explained. "That's all I know! Honest!"

"Did he look like this?" Mercury asked, showing him a picture of Lupin taken from the palace surveillance camera.

"Yeah! That's him!"

Everyone sagged.

"Great," scowled Venus. "Now we don't know where he is. He could be stealing the gold fillings out of the Diet for all we know."

"Maybe I've got something," Mars said. Everyone looked at her. The Senshi had her eyes closed and her hands were hovering over the roof of the yellow Fiat. They waited anxiously for Mars to continue.

"Well?" prodded Venus.

"I'm getting supernatural vibrations off of this car," Mars replied.

"What kind of supernatural vibrations?" Mercury asked. "Can you be more specific?"

"Not really," Mars shook her head. "But it might explain how a manga character could suddenly be real."

The others looked at each other and nodded.

* * *

The police waited anxiously as they observed the warehouse. King Endymion had instructed them to wait and wait they did. Moments earlier a motor launch had taken off from the wharf connected to the warehouse and was now being pursued by the harbor patrol. The tension only heightened when Superintendent Sakurada arrived and took command. Her Gucci designer clothes were an odd sight on the docks, but no one commented on the fact.

"DOOR'S OPENING!" shouted one of the officers. Guns cocked and aimed at the door to the warehouse.

Emerging from the door was King Endymion, still clad in gray tuxedo and his cloak wafting behind him. In his arms was The Queen, still limp and unconscious. Once the Royal Couple were clear of the warehouse, Sakurada commanded her forces to swarm the warehouse.

"Your Majesty?" Sakurada asked as she approached them. "Is The Queen all right?"

"Yes. She's just drugged," Endymion answered.

"Up there!" called one of the officers. A shadowy figure could be seen running across the roof of the warehouse. He made a prodigious leap to another building and was off, police in pursuit.

"What did they want?" Sakurada asked. "Was it a ransom or . . .?"

"I think Lupin wanted to distract us from his real goal," Endymion told her. "Unfortunately I couldn't find out what his real goal is." Endymion focused on Sakurada. "I want them caught, Superintendent. Any means necessary. You have my permission to waive civil rights in this instance."

Sakurada looked at him. She knew that it was both a dangerous decision and, for her, a liberating one. But before she could voice her concerns, Serenity began to stir.

"Oh, Mamo-Chan," she mumbled groggily. "I feel so sleepy. Are you carrying me to bed?"

"I am," he smiled and said gently. "It won't be long."

"Come in with me," she purred. Sakurada began to blush. Endymion gave her an embarrassed glance, then leaped off, bounding over cars and up to the rooftops.

* * *

The elevator opened onto the third floor research and development department of Mawasi Technology, one of Japan's leading computer research and development firms. Out stepped Arsene Lupin the Third, his blue jacket open and his hands stuffed in his pockets. A cigarette dangled from his lip and his beady eyes surveyed the room. With him was his constant partner, Daisuke Jigen, his seedy black jacket buttoned, his beard curved and scraggly and his hat pulled down over his eyes. Several programmers turned and looked at the pair curiously.

"I thought this place was going to be deserted," Jigen said anxiously.

"I never said that," smirked Lupin. "Computer nerds have notoriously varied hours. This place never closes shop. It just thins out after five."

"So how are we going to get it?" Jigen demanded.

"Say, who are you?" one of the programmers asked belligerently. "This is a restricted area! You're not allowed in here!"

"Jigen," Lupin said. Jigen drew his pistol and fired off one shot in a blur of motion. The programmer's Blutooth was whipped out of his ear before he even realized Jigen had fired. The room came to a hush.

"Now sit down," Lupin said jovially, "and be quiet. We'll only be a few minutes."

He looked around until he spotted the vault where new research master copies were kept. Ambling over, Lupin came up to the vault and stroked it with his hand, while Jigen kept everyone else at bay.

"Why don't you ask one of these guys to open the safe for you?" Jigen asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lupin asked. He pulled a small handheld device from his jacket pocket. "Besides, I want to try out this new gadget I got. Martinelli swears by it, but I want to try it for myself."

Lupin pressed the device to the door of the vault. A red light flashed three times, then changed to green. On the device's LED display, the word "initiating" flashed. It was followed by a sequence of numbers. Next were the words "time lock bypass", followed by a new sequence of numbers. After the sequence ended, the display flashed the words "final stage". Moments later, the lock on the vault door released.

"That's amazing!" one of the programmers gasped as Lupin entered the vault. "That time lock is state of the art!"

"So is this gadget," Lupin leered as he exited the vault and pulled the device off of the door. "Martinelli knows his stuff. Good thing, given what I paid for it."

Jigan glanced at Lupin and saw a flash drive in his hand.

"That's it?" Jigen grunted.

"This is it," Lupin smiled. "The latest in data retrieval programming, all on this little flash drive. This program is supposed to be able to acquire and download any information from anywhere, no matter what safeguards are in place."

"Sounds valuable," Jigen grunted. "How much ransom do you think you can get for it?"

"You're thinking too small, Jigen," chuckled Lupin. "With this device, run by someone who knows how, we could break in to every account in every bank the world over and empty them in moments. And just about every bank in the world is computerized. With this program, we could loot the world of ninety percent of its monetary assets in a day. We'll be four of the richest people on Earth."

"Four?" Jigen asked. "Cutting Goemon in I get, but Fujiko?"

"I may be a thief, but I have standards," Lupin replied. "And this way she won't steal it all."

"You're sure about that?" Jigen asked.

"But," one of the programmers stammered, "we can identify you to the police." Jigen turned his pistol on the man and he instantly wished he hadn't spoken.

"Good," Lupin smiled. "Here's my card. It'll help in case they don't believe you. Now if you will all excuse . . ."

Just then the elevator opened. Lupin and Jigen turned and found Zenigata standing in the doorway, handcuffs in his right hand and a smile of triumph on his face.

"Not quite slick enough, Lupin!" Zenigata roared.

"Pops! You made it!" Lupin chuckled.

Zenigata approached slowly, his pistol covering Jigen while he stalked Lupin. Lupin casually waited for him. But when Zenigata reached a certain distance, Lupin suddenly slammed a magnesium capsule on the floor. The capsule broke, resulting in a flash of bright light and a burst of fire. Momentarily blinded, Zenigata staggered back, then felt the cuffs whip from his hand. When his vision cleared, his wrists were cuffed behind his back. The elevator door was closing, with Lupin and Jigen inside waving at him.

"LUPIN!" Zenigata roared. But the door closed just the same.

Lupin and Jigen casually exited the front door of the Mawasi Technology building. It was a typical evening in the Minato-Ku business district. A few passers turned and noticed the odd dress of the two men.

"Not bad," Jigen said. "You'd think Zenigata would be wise to that magnesium trick by now, though."

"He keeps expecting something new and different," Lupin chuckled. "Sometimes the old tricks are the best." He pointed to a traffic surveillance camera. "Smile for the King and Queen, Jigen."

"Think she's OK?"

"I trust Fujiko-Chan," Lupin replied. "And Goemon was there, too."

As they reached the end of the plaza, though, the two men heard a sound behind them. Turning, they were amazed to see Zenigata bursting from the front door of the Mawasi building.

"LUPIN!" he roared, in hot pursuit of them both. Lupin and Jigen both broke into a run and could be seen by the traffic surveillance camera racing down the street, Zenigata hot on their heels.

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. Equivalent Exchange

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 5: "Equivalent Exchange"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Full Metal Alchemist and all related characters are © 2019 by Hiromu Arakawa and Square Enix and are used without permission, but with respect.

* * *

Queen Serenity glided into the meeting room and saw everyone but Minako was there waiting for her. As usual, Rei had a look of silent annoyance on her face.

"I wanted to make sure Setsuko-Chan and Yuri-Kun were all down for the night," the Queen explained. "You understand, don't you Mako-Chan?"

"Sure, Hon'," chuckled Makoto. "Problem is, every time I try to tuck Akiko and Ichiro in for the night, they yell at me." She sighed. "Never let 'em grow up."

Just as Serenity was taking a seat at the conference table next to Endymion, Minako breezed in.

"Sorry I'm late! I wanted to make sure Tat-Chan was down for the night," she leered. She received an audible sigh of disgust from Rei. "Oh, hey, movies! Hope it's something I haven't seen!"

"This is physical evidence I've assembled concerning the recent incident with the being who claimed to be Lupin the Third," Ami announced. She typed on a laptop and the screen on the wall displayed a Powerpoint window. A click displayed Lupin and Jigen running down a Tokyo street, Zenigata in pursuit. "These are traffic cam surveillance images taken outside the Mawasi Technology building in Minato-Ku."

"Weren't they robbed?" Makoto asked.

"That's what several of the staff programmers claim," Ami explained. "But the company checked their vault and found that nothing was missing. Additionally, the flash drive Lupin claimed to be after doesn't even exist."

"Then what did Lupin steal?" Minako asked.

"Was he even there?" Ami asked. She pressed another key. "This is traffic cam data from the intersecting street. I've synced them so they are displaying the same corner at the same time from two different angles."

The videos played. On the left, Lupin and Jigen ran to the corner and ducked around it. Zenigata followed moments later. On the right, nothing but normal auto and pedestrian traffic was displayed, even after Lupin and Jigen should have come into view.

"Where'd they go?" gasped Makoto.

"I have similar reports from Metro Police saying the speedboat Fujiko Mine escaped in was obscured for a moment by part of the wharf and vanished," Ami added.

"So," Minako puzzled out, "they were illusions?"

"A fox spirit!" exclaimed Rei. "I KNEW I sensed supernatural energy! It could only be a fox spirit!"

"Those were no illusions," Endymion declared flatly. "An illusion couldn't carry Serenity off and an illusion couldn't break the blade of my sword. Whatever they were, they were real."

"I concur," Ami nodded. "Logically they were real, since these beings had form and substance. But now it's as if they were never here - - except everyone remembers them. It's almost the reverse of a illusion. The question now is: what are they? The fact that Rei senses supernatural energy is pertinent. We've eliminated illusion or mass hallucination. What other possibilities are there?"

Everyone looked at Rei.

"I don't know," Rei said, brow furrowed. "Sorcery?"

"Is that possible?" Serenity asked.

"Well, sorcery did exist in the world. The Urn of the Ages is proof of that," Rei mumbled thoughtfully. "But I don't know if anyone still practices it. And I don't know how it works. It's not really my area. But I don't know what else fits. I'd have to research it."

"I'll give you any assistance you need," Ami offered.

"So will I," Endymion added. "If there are no other questions, I think we should all get some sleep."

"I've got a couple of questions," Minako spoke up. Everyone looked at her. "What do we do if something like this happens again?"

"A good point," Ami nodded. "We should keep the city on a general alert at minimum. What was your second question?"

"Why Lupin?" Minako asked.

* * *

Morning in the Royal Chambers found a familiar scene. Setsuko and Yuri were busily eating breakfast, washing their dishes and preparing for school. Endymion was eating and trying to keep an eye on his wife, the children and his phone in case he received any text messages from The Diet, government ministers or palace security. Serenity, as usual, was valiantly trying to eat with her eyes shut and not fall face first into her morning rice.

"Children, your escort is here," Luna said, entering the chambers. Behind the black cat, Ichiro Ikegami peeked in. His face lit up upon seeing Setsuko. "Although I rather think Setsuko-Chan has a volunteer for escort duties. You know the way to the limousine, don't you Yuri-Kun?"

"Yes, Luna," Yuri sighed. He was beginning to chafe at being thought of as nine, even though that was his age. The contingent planned to stop by the Tsukino residence in the palace to pick up Mikomi. The five year old was attending pre-school.

"Ichiro-Kun!" Serenity called over her shoulder, not realizing that the trio had already left. "I have something for you!"

"They're already gone," Endymion told her. Serenity responded with a blind pout.

"Besides, Your Majesty, Makoto has asked you time and again not to give her children candy," Luna fussed.

"You're using those words again," mumbled Serenity. A strand of hair fell into the spoon full of rice rising to Serenity's mouth. Serenity swallowed it, hair and all, then stopped chewing. "Are we having shredded wheat?"

"Disgusting," huffed Luna.

Just then, Endymion's phone buzzed. He picked it up and read the message.

"What is it?" Serenity asked, one eye pried open. "Don't tell me you have to leave."

"Palace Security messaged me," Endymion said. "They've apprehended two foreigners sneaking around the first level HVAC room."

"Foreigners, Your Majesty?" asked Luna.

"One was clearly European; only fourteen they estimate," Endymion replied, puzzled. "He was with a man - - wearing a suit of armor."

Suddenly Serenity's eyes were both open.

* * *

Endymion entered the tenth floor Palace Security office, curious as to the situation. He had received another message shortly after the report at breakfast, requesting his presence. His assumption had been that the security forces had discovered something they deemed vital and he should know about it.

He wasn't expecting what he found. Sitting at a table in a detention room was a fourteen year old boy, blond hair pulled into a ponytail and clearly of European extraction. His coat was sitting on another chair and he wore a type of uniform Endymion didn't recognize. The youth seemed to Endymion far more mature than his tender age would suggest. Part of that may have been due to the functioning metal prosthetic arm he wore. Endymion wondered as much about how the boy lost the arm as to the strange technology that made it function, technology advanced beyond anything Japan had accomplished.

What was even more astounding was the suit of armor sitting next to him. The helmet had been removed, showing to the King and everyone else it was empty. Yet all his security personnel swore that it moved on its own.

"We've tried to interrogate the boy," Guard Captain Ryomune told the King, "with little success. He either gives us a sullen look or stonewalls us. They claim they came in the front gate and got lost, but surveillance cameras at the gate disprove that."

"The armor," Endymion wondered out loud. "Could it be cybernetically controlled, like his metal arm?"

"I wouldn't know, Your Majesty," Ryomune deferred.

"Well maybe we should find out," Endymion replied and brought out his cell phone. He pressed an app on the phone, then brought it to his ear. "I apologize if I'm interrupting anything important, but could you four come up to the Palace Security office? Thank you."

Putting the phone away, Endymion looked through the observation glass at the two detainees. The boy seemed anxious, though he tried to hide it with a gruff exterior. And he seemed to be talking to the suit of armor. Moments later, Ami and Makoto entered. Instantly Ami pressed up to the glass.

"Is that a working cyber-prosthetic?" she gasped. Instantly she changed into Sailor Mercury and had her computer out. "My goodness! The technology on this is impossible! This defies several laws of physics! And yet, there it is!" Makoto seemed to take wry amusement at Mercury's amazement.

"What do you scan from the armor?" Endymion asked. Mercury engaged her computer scan.

"Typical north central European design, probably thirteenth to fifteenth century," Mercury replied. "Common tempered steel construction; I do notice some dried human blood on the back plate near the neck."

"No cybernetics?" Endymion asked. Mercury shook her head. "Because that suit of armor walks on its own, and that boy has been talking to it."

"That's because there's a human soul bound to it," Rei said. She had no sooner entered the room and looked at the pair before she came to her conclusion.

"For real?" gasped Makoto. "How?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that blood mark is the binding symbol. I couldn't tell you how. But I can tell you that the armor is giving off some very powerful, very unearthly vibes. The boy is, too, but not nearly as much. How did they get here?"

"We're still trying to figure that out," Endymion told her.

"I could question them, if you'd like," Rei offered.

"If it wouldn't be too upsetting," Endymion responded.

Just then, Minako trudged in, dragged from her bed.

"Now what? Tat-Chan and I were cuddling," grumbled the blonde. But once she got a look through the window into the detention room, her eyes popped. "Crap, it happened again!"

"Another manga come to life?" Mercury asked.

"Full Metal Alchemist," Minako nodded. "That's Edward Elric and the suit of armor is his brother Alphonse."

With that, Rei opened the door to the detention room. Before anyone could stop her, the priest was in the room. Edward instantly tensed, but maintained his gruff demeanor.

"What do you two want here?" demanded Rei.

"We got lost," huffed Edward. "It's a big castle."

Rei just stared. In the other room, Mercury was scanning with her computer while the others watched.

"What are you staring for?" barked Edward.

"They were looking for Serenity," Rei suddenly announced. Edward's eyes popped. "They're looking for something called a Philosopher's Stone. They think Serenity has one because of her abilities."

"Brother!" gasped the armor. That unnerved everyone, including Rei. Endymion turned to Mercury.

"Um," Mercury began, typing on her computer. "A Philosopher's Stone is a legend tied to the discredited science of alchemy."

"It's a stone that can change any element into another element," Minako continued. "They want it to retrieve Alphonse's body from limbo." Unbidden, Minako entered the detention room. "Are there others here after Serenity? Homunculi for example?"

"What do you know about Homunculi?" Edward asked warily.

"I saw the anime," Minako volleyed back, momentarily confusing Edward. "Are they here? Are they after Serenity, too? Speak up, Ed."

Edward and the armor both reacted with surprise. Rei and Minako both could see they didn't know how much their captors knew and didn't know what to say next.

"We don't know," Alphonse admitted finally. "I hope not. But they've been one step ahead of us the entire time, so it could be that they're here."

"Not good, not good, not good," Minako began shaking her head.

"What is it, Blondie?" Makoto asked.

"Seven Homunculi," Minako outlined. "Artificial life forms, named after the seven deadly sins, and each one has some pretty impressive powers. If they're after Serenity . . ."

"Someone's after me?" Serenity asked. Everyone turned and found her standing in the room. From the open door to the detention room, Edward glanced up. Suddenly leaping forward, he charged toward her and was barely caught and restrained by Rei and Minako.

"Please!" Edward exclaimed. "If you've got a stone! Please make my brother whole again!"

* * *

Tomoaki Inubashi, twenty-eight, was in his first year on the Tokyo Metro Police Force. He did a good job at his current posting, traffic enforcement, but longed to become a beat cop and do something besides chalk tires and issue tickets. Pausing at a light, his motorcycle idling beneath him, Inubashi scanned the area on the off chance that a robbery, a fight, a stolen vehicle, anything would present itself and allow him to feel like he was an actual police officer.

Not that he hadn't had brushes; he had been working the night of the shooting at the Opera House, though he was in Minato-Ku at the time. He had known the traffic officer shot by the Yakuza gangster, though again he was working a different prefect. Though Inubashi was glad his friend was recovering from the shooting, he couldn't help but think that he could have handled it differently. No perp was going to get the drop on him.

As he started forward on his cycle, Inubashi noticed something to his right. It was a woman, foreign from her appearance, and she was waving to him. Assuming it was just a stranded motorist or a lost tourist, he guided his cycle over to her. Maybe she had been robbed by some delinquent.

All speculation ended though when Inubashi got near enough to get a good look at the woman. Thick black hair leisurely curled to her shoulders and down her back, framing a face that held you speechless. Her eyes were small, but vibrant and coaxing. Her nose seemed common on its own, but bisected her face in an elegant manner. Ruby red lips smiled at him and seemed to say more than she did. She wore an off the shoulder black gown that hugged generous curves. At first Inubashi thought she was wearing a red necklace, but when he got close, the officer saw that it was tattooed on her skin. At once, the officer realized that he was staring and glanced up at her in embarrassment. The woman seemed to know he'd been staring, but took no offense.

"I-Is there a problem, ma'am?" Inubashi asked. His leather bike jacket suddenly seemed hot and uncomfortable.

"In there," she said, pointing down the alley behind her. Her voice was low and breathy and no matter what she said, Inubashi could hear "I want you" echoing behind. "There's a man. I think he's hurt."

Duty warred with sexual tension and gained enough control over him. "Show me," he said, then dismounted after radioing in his location and intent.

The woman headed down the alley and he followed. Despite his intentions, Inubashi fixated on her bottom, the way it swayed when she walked and the way the dress covering it caught the light and played with shadow. Feeling his throat dry, the officer swallowed and tried to focus on the job. This was not the first foreign woman he'd met, nor the first beautiful one. But she was doing things to him that he'd never experienced before to this intensity.

"He's around that corner," the woman said, pointing to a junction in the alley. Inubashi turned the corner, expecting almost anything. But he didn't expect this.

Standing there were two men - - well he thought they were two men. One was squat and round, bigger than a Sumo, with a hairless bowling ball head, a big nose and a vacant expression. The other seemed like a man, with a smooth, athletic body and long hair moussed into spikes that pointed down his back. But Inubashi thought and wondered if it couldn't be a very butch woman. Whichever sex, Inubashi was getting a contemptuous smirk for his confusion.

"Ma'am, is this the man you . . ." Inubashi began. He stopped when he felt a sharp, hard spike pass through his chest and out the front of his bike jacket. Shaky hands reached up for the spike, then lost their strength and fell away.

The spike tilted downward and the officer slid off of it. Inubashi fell in a heap and with the last of his strength looked up. The woman was standing over him. The spike was extended from the woman's right forefinger. As Inubashi's life ebbed away, pooling over the dirty alley, the other two moved in.

"Do you think you can do it, Envy?" the woman asked, looking at the androgynous one. Even dying, Inubashi felt the woman's voice like a fond caress.

"Silly question, Lust," sneered the androgynous one. And before the dying officer's eyes, Envy's face and formed changed to mimic his own, down to every detail.

"You know what to do," Lust replied. "His motorcycle is on the street. And don't forget to call his dispatcher."

"I know what I'm doing," Envy scowled. "You just clean up this mess." And the Homunculus in the police officer's guise sauntered off.

"Lust," the gigantic one ventured, his voice betraying his anxiousness and just a little desperation. "Can I eat him now?"

Lust reached over and patted the man on his pumpkin head with almost maternal gentleness.

"Yes, Gluttony," she purred. "You may eat him."

And thankfully Officer Tomoaki Inubashi chose that moment to die, before Gluttony consumed him.

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. The Living Philosopher's Stone

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 6: "The Living Philosopher's Stone"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

The guard at the gate escorted the Tokyo Metro police officer in through the palace front gate and into the atrium. The police officer looked around. On his left were display cases of gifts from around the world, art contributed from several of the leading artists of several countries, and framed proclamations of support. In the center of the room was a grand staircase with ornate banisters leading up to the second floor. On the right were corridors leading to other parts of the first floor, a bank of elevators, a queued line of people waiting for Queen Serenity's daily meet and greet, and a souvenir shop. The Royal Couple had been reluctant to put it in, but public demand for memorabilia forced their hand

"First time in the palace?" the security guard asked.

"Yeah," Officer Tomoaki Inubashi's doppelganger nodded. Actually the homunculus Envy in disguise, he had approached the gate claiming that he had discovered a plot against the King and Queen and needed access to the palace to protect them. The guard was escorting him to meet with the palace chief of security.

"I can tell by the look," the guard chuckled. "The palace is pretty showy, but don't think it means the King and Queen are aloof. Queen Serenity is probably the nicest person you'll ever meet."

"All the more reason to protect them," Inubashi said.

An elevator door opened and the guard stepped in. Envy followed him warily, looking the car over with clear uncertainty.

"What kind of a threat is it?" the guard asked. They were alone in the car.

"I didn't say," Inubashi replied. "But thanks for letting me in. You humans are so gullible."

His hand whipped across the guard's throat and the man sank to the floor of the car, his windpipe crushed. A few moments later he was dead and Envy had assumed his form. When the car opened, Envy peered out to see if anyone was looking, then dragged the body out. He found an unlocked door, which led to a utility closet for the palace cleaning crew, and stuffed his victim inside. Standing for a moment in concentration, the doppelganger guard tried to sense the presence of a Philosopher's Stone. When nothing came to him, he consulted a map of the palace posted on the wall for the location of the Royal Chambers.

"I heard that it involved the Queen," a passing member of the cleaning staff said to her companion. "They're up in the Security Offices right now."

"Oh, why do people always have to attack the Queen?" another staffer fussed. "Don't they see how much good she does?"

As the housekeepers walked off, the security officer glanced at the map, then headed up the nearest stairs for the Security Office.

* * *

"Please! If you have a stone, you have to use it to get my brother's body back!"

Rei and Minako struggled to hold back the youth who Minako had named Edward Elric. The youth was frantic, desperate to reach Serenity upon seeing her in the Security Office of the Crystal Palace. The two women were trying to hold Edward back while keeping an eye out in case the armor attacked. As such, nobody was watching Serenity. She approached them. Edward reached between Rei and Minako, grasping vainly for Serenity. And Serenity took Edward's hand.

"SERENITY, DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Minako commanded.

"Mina-Chan," Serenity sighed in despair, "he's a human being who needs my help." She turned back to Edward, who had calmed some at the touch of her hand. "I don't have this stone you're after. But perhaps I can help anyway. What do you need?"

"My brother, Alphonse," Edward said, wanting to believe that there was another way besides using the tainted Philosopher's Stones. "Can you change him back to a human? Whatever you want, you can have."

"I'll try," Serenity smiled.

"Don't do it, Serenity!" Rei exclaimed. "You don't know how much strain that will put on you! It could be fatal!"

"Rei, we've been through this," Serenity replied, clearly hurt. "This boy's life is no less important than mine. And if I have the ability to help him, I'm obligated to do so - - just from the standpoint of being human."

"No, Serenity," Rei fought back. "You ARE more important than him - - or me or anyone else! Because you're this world's best hope for peace! And if you die, then where will we all be? It's one life versus billions!"

"And he's not even real," Minako added.

"What do you mean we're not real?" Edward angrily demanded. "If you need a life for an equivalent exchange, then TAKE MINE!"

"BROTHER, NO!" the armor protested, lurching up from the table.

"It has nothing to do with equivalent exchange," Mercury said, approaching the melee. "We are of the opinion that you and Alphonse are characters in a work of fiction that somehow have been brought to reality. And that whomever did this can return you to fictional non-life just as easily."

The strength seemed to go out of Edward. He slumped back and sat on the edge of the table.

"Brother," Alphonse asked in hushed tones. "Do you think it's true?"

"I don't know," Edward replied, shocked and haunted. "I'm beginning to wonder if anything is true anymore."

The door to the interrogation room opened. Everybody turned and saw a palace guard framed in the doorway. No one thought anything of it. Rei was focused on the Elric brothers.

"Queen Serenity?" the guard asked. Rei turned to him. Her eyes got big.

"AKURYO TAISAN!" the priest bellowed, whipping a sutra at the surprised guard. He tried to avoid it, but the sutra followed him and struck him on the forehead. The man hissed, doubled over, and his form shifted to that of an androgynous male with long spiked hair.

"Don't anyone get near him!" Rei shouted. "I can sense the supernatural energy coming off of him in waves! He's not human!"

"And why would I want to be human?" chuckled Envy. He raised his head and was wearing a maniacal expression on his face. The sutra was already turning to dust.

"Envy!" Edward and Minako said almost in unison. She summoned her henshin stick, which prompted Makoto to summon hers. Edward clapped his hands, then elongated his prosthetic arm so that a metal blade extended beyond his hand.

Before anyone could act, though, Envy fell back into the hall and crumpled to the floor. He grasped at his chest in obvious pain. Sailor Jupiter reached the door first, followed by Venus and Rei. Sticking out of Envy's chest was a red rose. Feeling his presence behind them, the Senshi parted and allowed King Endymion into the hall.

"Stinking human scum!" Envy snarled through the pain. "What did you do to me?"

"Why are you here?" Endymion asked, calmly but with an undercurrent of menace.

"Die in a fire!" Envy spat. He tried to pull the rose from his chest, but couldn't seem to get a solid grip on it.

"Perhaps he's after Serenity, just as the Elrics are," suggested Mercury. "If these characters believe that she possesses a Philosopher's Stone, they might wish to secure it just as the Elrics did."

"Makes sense," Venus replied. "That's something Father would be interested in."

"You humans think you're so smart!" Envy laughed coldly. "You have no idea what Father is planning! You're only guessing!"

"Wrong, Handsome," Venus leaned in with a cold smile. "I've seen the anime - - three times." As Envy stared in confusion, Venus turned to Rei. "The surest way to get rid of this guy is for you to change to Mars and turn him into ashes."

"Venus!" gasped Serenity.

"It's OK, Serenity," Venus advised her. "He's not alive. He's an artificial parody of humanity bred to help Father consume the lives of an entire country. And burning him up is the surest way of eliminating him as a threat." She put her hand on Serenity's arm. "You don't have to watch if you don't want to."

Serenity turned to Endymion. He nodded gravely. As Rei transformed, Serenity returned to the interrogation room.

"Endymion!" she exclaimed. Serenity pointed to the holding room where a giant hole was now in the back wall and the Elric brothers were gone.

"Palace Security, this is a priority one alert!" Endymion barked into his cell phone. "Locate and apprehend two intruders last seen in sixth floor Security Interrogation. One male blond, fourteen, and one suit of armor."

"Wish I could see their faces when they heard that," mumbled Venus with a momentary smile. But she watched Envy the entire time.

"We need to get you to safety until this is all figured out," Endymion told Serenity as he ushered her down the hall. She didn't fight at first, but stopped and bowed her head when she heard Mars yell "Burning Mandala".

"We need to be careful, Endymion," she said emotionally. "Careful that we don't become what we're fighting against."

* * *

"When are we going to eat?" Gluttony asked with child-like petulance. "I'm hungry."

Lust glanced at him with momentary frustration, then dismissed him from her mind. There were more important things to do than appease Gluttony's endless hunger. The pair sat in the dark back room of a restaurant, waiting for word from Envy. She knew they would have to move soon; the restaurant opened at six p.m. If the plan went right, Envy would be back by then.

"Lust, when are we going to eat?" Gluttony persisted.

"There's a meat cooler over there," Lust sighed, pointing to her right. "Take what you want."

Overjoyed, Gluttony waddled over to the meat cooler and began downing chickens, cuts of beef and pork, and gravy bases whole, canister and all. Lust barely noticed. She was focused on Envy's return. Or what would happen if he didn't return.

"You indulge him too much," a voice from the shadows said. The voice dripped with contempt and more, with juvenile superiority. It irritated Lust.

"If his mouth is full, he's not talking," Lust replied, a rebuke of the voice as much as of Gluttony. "Is this woman actually a living Philosopher's Stone?"

"It seems impossible," the voice replied. "But if she is, we need to possess her. And if she's not, she's the only thing that can oppose us. So she has to be killed."

"Any word from Envy yet?"

The voice was silent.

"Envy failed," the voice announced. "We'll need a different plan."

"Such as?"

The shadows gave a childish laugh. "We'll just sic Gluttony on them. While he's occupying their attention, one of us will infiltrate and capture her. And if he's lost in the process," and the shadows around her erupted in multiple gigantic eyes, "oh well."

"Understood," Lust replied. She secretly hoped she would be the one to capture this Queen Serenity, if only for the fact that she feared Pride getting hold of her.

* * *

"But Usagi-Mama!" Yuri protested. He shared the room with his adoptive sister, Setsuko, as well as his Uncle Shingo, Shingo's wife Yoriko, and Shingo's children Mikomi and Kenji.

"Yuri, please do this for me," Serenity pleaded. She was on her knees, holding her adoptive son by the shoulders. "There may be trouble ahead and I'll be much better able to deal with it if you and Setsuko-Chan are in the safe room. You don't have to go there now, but I want you both to be near it so you can get to safety quickly."

"But what about you?" he asked anxiously.

"I'll be fine," she smiled. "I have Endymion and your aunts to protect me, plus all of the guards in the palace. They'll make sure I'm safe."

Reluctantly Yuri turned to go. He joined Setsuko as they headed out the door to head to one of the standby rooms near the Safe Room Endymion had build in the palace. They could come and go from the standby rooms, but once they were in the Safe Room they had to stay put. As they left, Setsuko turned and glanced at Serenity. The eight-year-old was a veteran of these occurrences and knew her duty, but she still couldn't hide her anxiety.

"I wish we knew if they were going to attack again," Serenity murmured. "I'd rather go to them and settle this."

"I would, too," Endymion told her. "But we need to find them, first." He turned to Rei and her grandmother Moriko, who were in the room with them. "Any luck?"

"I sense the threat to this hearth," Moriko replied. "It's extremely powerful - - extremely evil. You must stay on your guard."

"Agreed, but for how long?"

"I wish I knew," Rei said. "I feel it out there, lurking and waiting. The destruction of Envy didn't reduce it by much. Either the other six that Minako briefed us on are all out there, or what I'm feeling is this particular one: Pride."

"I think you will not have to wait long," Moriko advised them. "With such spiritual power at their command, they have no reason to wait."

* * *

It came bounding like a rabid dog across the street that ran directly in front of the Crystal Palace. The creature was rotund, with massive arms and legs and a pumpkin head that seemed dwarfed by the body. The guards at the gate turned and pointed as a car couldn't stop in time and impacted with the creature, sending it flying. It struck the pavement, rolled once, then got to all fours and resumed its charge toward the palace, tongue dangling out of its mouth.

Gluttony hit the curb in front of the palace gate and launched himself at the structure. The iron gate groaned and bent, but didn't buckle. Gluttony hung on the gate and when it wouldn't open for him bit down on the top of the gate and began eating it.

"Fire!" one of the guards shouted.

Three guards fired on Gluttony with stun guns. One set of prongs bounced off of his bloated body, but two other sets embedded in his skin. Electricity passed through the wires, into the prongs and into Gluttony. But the monster grimaced in annoyance, brushed the prongs away and resumed eating the gate.

"Maybe you folks just don't have enough juice," Sailor Jupiter announced as she exited the palace. Mercury and Venus flanked her. "Supreme Thunder!"

Mercury and Venus fell back a few paces as electricity lanced down from the heavens and gathered in Jupiter's tiara. When she could hold no more, Jupiter expelled the electricity in a bolt of lightning that shot across the courtyard of the palace and struck Gluttony head on. The being was knocked glowing from the gate and landed on the sidewalk. When the charge spent itself, Gluttony lay on the sidewalk, propped up on his elbows.

"That hurt," he said with childish petulance, his body still smoking. But in a moment he forgot it and scrambled back to his feet. Despite his size, Gluttony proved to be very fast and agile. He leaped over the gate and headed directly for the gathered Senshi.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" Venus called out.

The golden heart links shot out from her, intercepting Gluttony and wrapping around his wide girth. The creature landed nimbly, but his arms were trapped at his sides.

"Mercury! Aqua Rhapsody!" Mercury shouted.

A wave of water sprang up from nowhere and engulfed Gluttony, then flash froze around him. He sat trapped in the block of ice, immobile and staring out at them in confusion and frustration.

"Cool!" exclaimed Venus.

"Had to go there, didn't you?" Jupiter replied. Venus grinned at her. "Think that ice will hold him?"

"It'll probably have a lot better chance if we can get it out of the sun and into a nice cold freezer," Venus suggested.

"I concur," Mercury added. "The question now is how to move it?"

The three Senshi looked at each other.

"I suppose Serenity could levitate it?" Jupiter shrugged.

"Boy, it would have been real nice if one of us had gotten super strength as a Senshi power," Venus sighed.

Mercury was already on her communicator to Serenity. As Jupiter and Venus watched, Mercury became more and more concerned.

"She's not answering," Mercury said. "I can't raise Endymion, either."

* * *

In the safe room, Yuri tried to watch television along with the others. Gathered in the room were Setsuko, Makoto's husband and children, Ami's husband Hayami, Minako's husband Tatsuo, and Shingo and his family. The adults were trying to make the best of it, for the children's sake, but the undercurrent of tension couldn't be dismissed.

"I wish I knew what was happening," Yuri muttered.

"They're pros at this," Shingo said, sitting down next to Yuri. Three-year-old Kenji was on his knee. "They'll handle it. We just have to wait. And I'm not sure knowing what's happening would help."

"Uncle Shingo," Yuri began, "what's it like? Being her brother?"

"Well what's it like being Setsuko-Chan's brother?" Shingo asked. "A sister can be the biggest pain in the neck in the entire universe, and at the same time she's someone who has shared so many experiences with you, things you haven't shared with anyone else. That creates a bond. Sure Usagi can just do a few more things than most people. But she's still just my sister. "

"Do you think we're safe here?" Yoriko asked anxiously. Mikomi clutched her leg.

"You're perfectly safe here," came a child-like voice from the shadows at the edge of the reach of the artificial ceiling lights. Then Mikomi shrieked as the shadows grew eyes. "Just as long as Queen Serenity does exactly as she's told."

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. Two-Pronged Attack

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 7: "Two-Pronged Attack"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"ENDYMION!" Serenity shrieked.

The King had been about to exit the Royal Chambers. But when he opened the door, two black spikes shot out at him and rammed through both shoulders. The force staggered him back. Then he lost his footing and was dragged back until the spikes pinned him to the far wall. His face contorted in pain as he hung helplessly. Serenity started for him.

"Don't come any closer!" a low, seductive voice warned.

Everyone turned and saw a beautiful dark-haired woman in an off the shoulder black dress standing in the door. The black spikes were extended from her index and forefinger. The woman had an evil leer to her continence. One strand of curly black hair dangled over her right eye.

"Let him go!" wailed Serenity. "He's hurt!"

"Yes, he is," Lust smiled. "But he's still alive. That can change." Lust glanced to her right, noticing Rei charging a sutra. "Don't do it! All I have to do is bring my fingers together and I'll cut his heart in half!"

"Rei, don't!" Serenity added. She turned to Lust. "What do you want?"

"You," Lust replied. "Or more precisely, your Philosopher's Stone."

"I don't have one!" Serenity cried. "I didn't even know what it was until today! So please, let him go!"

"Your reputation precedes you, Your Majesty," Lust replied, enjoying this like a cat playing with a mouse. "Everyone has heard of the miracles you can create. Do you expect me to believe that you do it all without a Philosopher's Stone?"

"If you know my reputation," Serenity answered, her eyes locked on Lust, "then you know I don't lie. I-do-not-have-a-Philosopher's-Stone."

"Then Pride was right," Lust began, momentarily surprised. "You are a living Philosopher's Stone! I thought only Father . . ." She grew serious. "My objective hasn't changed. His life for yours, Your Majesty."

"Serenity . . ." Endymion began. But a jiggle of the spikes from Lust's fingers silenced the King as he seized up in pain.

"ENDYMION!" the Queen sobbed in terror.

"Serenity, you can't do it!" Rei hissed.

But she knew that look. And Rei's mind raced for something she could do to change this awful scene.

* * *

"What are you?" Sanjuro demanded as he stood up to shield his children. Everyone in the safe room had turned to the shadow in the far corner of the room, the shadow with a dozen eyes and a voice of eerie menace.

"I don't explain myself to mere humans," Pride replied. "You!" and a black tendril shot out and pointed a very sharp tip into Hayami's chest. The librarian tensed. "Call the Queen. Tell her that her presence is required. Otherwise humans are going to start dying."

The tendril backed off slowly. Hayami fumbled his cell phone out of his jacket and began to punch in Queen Serenity's number. While he worked his phone, the others stared up at the apparition.

"What do you want with the Queen?" Tatsuo asked, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"I said I don't have to explain myself to humans!" the shadow replied. A tendril shot out at Tatsuo. It grazed his cheek, opening up a three inch cut. Mikomi began crying. "What you humans don't understand is that you only have one value in this world: that's to be raw material for Philosopher's Stones. Your idea that you're in some way equal to us is a delusion of grandeur on your part. And right now your only other value is as something to hold over Queen Serenity's head." The eyes shifted to Hayami. "Haven't you made that call yet?"

"S-She's not answering," Hayami reported. "Neither is the King."

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR THE KING!" Pride raged. A tendril flashed out and slapped Hayami, knocking him to the floor. Sanjuro crouched down, trying to help him.

"Don't do anything rash!" Hayami exclaimed. "I can call my wife! She's one of Queen Serenity's Senshi. Maybe she can get through."

When Pride didn't respond, Hayami took it as a sign and picked up his cell phone. With shaking fingers, he punched the speed-dial for Ami.

"Ami!" Hayami gasped. "Yes, I'm in the safe room! It's just - - there's this - - creature."

He listened for a moment.

"It wants Queen Serenity!"

"Tell her to hurry!" Pride spoke up. A tendril lanced out and snatched three-year-old Kenji from Shingo's knee. He dangled the boy in the air as the child started crying. "Otherwise she'll be short one loved one."

* * *

"All right!" Rei heard Queen Serenity exclaim. "I surrender. You can have me. Just let Endymion go."

Rei heard the words she was dreading, but not from the place she expected to hear it. The voice came from her right. Turning, Serenity was standing there. Her hands were extended from her body and she began cautiously approaching Lust. Turning to her left, where Serenity had been, Rei saw her Great-grandmother Moriko. The priest's lips parted in confusion.

So did Lust's.

"I swear to you I won't do anything to attack you or escape," Serenity said as she approached the homunculus. "But please let him go. You have what you want. Let him go!"

"Wait, weren't you over there?" Lust began, frowning. "Is this some sort of trick?"

"You have what you want," Serenity pleaded.

"Do I?" Lust asked. She twisted her right hand ever so slightly and Endymion emitted a strangled exclamation of agony.

"Endymion!" shrieked Moriko. And Rei and "Serenity" knew the jig was up.

"No more games," Lust snarled. "No more tricks. Take my hand NOW, Queen Serenity, or begin mourning your husband."

There was a momentary flash of light at Lust's feet, catching her attention. Then the floor changed into a gigantic fist. It shot up and smashed Lust right in the face before she could dodge. Lust went down like she'd been shot and in a blink Edward Elric was on top of her. Endymion cried out again as Lust's talons shifted, but Alphonse Elric bolted forward. He grasped the black spikes. A slight energy charge emerged from his hands, then the talons crumbled into dust.

While Edward changed the section of the floor into a metal clamp binding Lust, Serenity leaped over to her husband and eased him to the floor. Blood was oozing from his wounds and the King ground his teeth from the pain.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Rei asked Moriko. "You used your fox magic to make everyone thing you and Serenity had switched places."

"I'm only sorry it didn't work," Moriko responded.

"Endymion," Serenity whimpered, brushing her husband's forehead with her hand. Blood had already begun to stain her gown.

"Maybe I can help him," offered Alphonse.

"No," Serenity shook her head.

Her hand began to glow silver. Alphonse eased back on his heels and watched as Serenity brought her hand down on the wound. Rei and Moriko watched from farther back, while Edward and Lust watched from across the room. There was a flash of silver light from her hand that momentarily obscured everything. When it died away, Serenity removed her hand. The wound was healed.

"Brother!" gasped Alphonse. "Alchehestry? Like May Chang practices?"

"I'm beginning to think that she's a science all to herself," Edward responded.

Serenity repeated the process on Endymion's other wound. When she finished, the Queen drooped her head and exhaled. Rei knelt next to her.

"Sounds like it took a lot out of you," Rei observed.

"It was worth it," Serenity grinned. She looked up at Alphonse. "Thank you for coming back and helping us."

"Well, when we saw Envy, we figured that Lust was probably lurking somewhere in the vicinity," Edward explained. "We know what she's like and we weren't sure you folks could handle her."

"Plus it was the right thing to do," Alphonse added.

"Yeah," Edward sighed with amusement. "Any other odd happenings to report? If Lust and Envy are around, Gluttony is probably somewhere, too."

"Mercury, Jupiter and Venus were involved with something at the front . . ." Rei began. Then her Senshi Communicator went off. Serenity's did as well, but she ignored it for Endymion. After a few moments conversation, Rei looked up in panic. "Serenity, that was Mercury! She says the Safe Room had been breached!"

"By what?" Serenity gasped fearfully.

"Hayami said it was a living shadow with a dozen eyes!"

"Pride!" Edward and Alphonse said at the same time. Serenity didn't hesitate. Levitating up, she passed through the ceiling like a wraith. Rei barreled out the door in pursuit, followed by Edward and Alphonse. The priest took only a moment to slap a sutra on Lust's forehead to hopefully keep her from escaping.

* * *

With her son dangling from one of Pride's tendrils, Yoriko was up off of the sofa. She approached the looming shadow of Pride steadily, without fear.

"Put my son down," she told Pride.

"In how many pieces?" Pride asked. "You humans are hilarious. You think you have something to threaten me with?"

"I'm not human," Yoriko said as she continued to advance.

Pride stopped shaking the child at her. He stared with his dozen eyes. Then he noticed the room temperature had dropped a dozen degrees.

"And just what are you?" Pride asked.

"I am Yuki-onna," Yoriko said. She continued to approach.

Pride wondered for a moment why he didn't just lop her head off. For some reason, he couldn't. There was something about her, something mesmerizing, that kept his brain from connection to that thought and acting on it. He felt - - what was he feeling? Pride tried to look away, but he couldn't. He felt something regarding her, and as he examined his feelings found that he had only felt this way about one other woman.

Yoriko continued to approach. When she was close enough to touch Pride, she leaned in and kissed the shadow. Pride uttered a soft groan, but was too enchanted to resist.

"Daddy, what's Mommy doing?" whimpered five-year-old Mikomi.

That seemed to break the spell. Pride felt Yoriko drawing the very life out of him and reacted in panic, lashing out with a shadowy tendril and knocking Yoriko away. Yoriko hit the floor and skidded to a stop against the far wall.

"Mama!" Kenji yelled fearfully. He still dangled from one of Pride's tendrils.

"That was a stupid thing to do, Yuki-onna!" Pride raged petulantly. "Now I'm hungry." A tendril formed under Kenji. It parted in the middle, revealing razor sharp teeth. "Fortunately I have the perfect snack at hand."

"No!" Shingo barked, standing up. As he glared at Pride, he surreptitiously pushed Mikomi over to Akiko and Ichiro.

"Who are you telling 'no'?" Pride responded petulantly. "You don't have the power to stop me. We all know that."

"Then," Shingo began, his voice trembling, "take me. He's got his whole life ahead of him. If you're hungry, take me."

"How about I take you both?" Pride asked. Another tendril rose up from the far wall and loomed over Shingo. It grew a single eye and very sharp teeth. "Think the Queen will come running if I do that?"

At once, Pride's eyes shifted to its right. That made everyone else look. Passing through the wall like a ghost was Queen Serenity. No sooner had she solidified than she gasped in shock at what she saw.

"Put him down!" Serenity cried. "He's just a baby!"

"He's raw material," sneered Pride. "But you can save him. Give me . . ."

"I-don't-have-a-Philosopher's-Stone!" Serenity fumed. "I've already been over that with Lust and with Envy before that!"

"Don't take that tone," Pride huffed. The tendril under Kenji snapped its jaws. "It might prove fatal. So, if you don't have a Philosopher's Stone, that can only mean you ARE one. I can work with that."

A tendril shot out from the corner Pride was lurking in, opening huge ravenous jaws as it darted for Serenity. But Serenity raised her hands and the tendril hit an invisible wall. It pulled back and thrust again and again, but could not penetrate. Finally Pride stopped.

"You haven't won," the homunculus snarled immaturely. The jaws snapped under Kenji again. "Drop your shield or I enjoy a light snack."

Serenity gestured toward Kenji. Enraged, Pride let go of him so he would fall into the jaws below. But the child didn't fall. And when Pride tried to grasp him again, the monster found that a second shield had formed around the boy.

Behind her, Serenity heard energy crackling. Both combatants hazarded a glance and found the thick steel door to the Safe Room transforming into a light grey gas. Edward and Alphonse stuck their heads inside.

"Edward! Alphonse! Please get everyone out of here!" Serenity exclaimed.

Pride saw the hostages move toward the door and tried to lunge for them. But Edward clapped his hands and converted a pocket of air molecules into magnesium. The metal flashed bright white and Pride was forced back.

"Light," she heard Mercury say. "Of course." Serenity was in the process of levitating Kenji and Yoriko over to Shingo. Her brother glanced over at her and noticed the strain beginning to show on her face. "Serenity, can you produce a strong light?"

"Hold on!" Alphonse cautioned. "Bright light will throw shadows! Pride might be able to use those shadows to flank the Queen!"

"Well we have to do something!" Jupiter demanded, possessively holding onto Ichiro. "My lightning strike produces a lot of light."

"But will it be prolonged enough to destroy this entity?" Mercury wondered. They glanced at Edward and Alphonse and got a glum shake of their heads.

"Is everyone out?" Serenity called to them.

"Yeah, Serenity, everyone is out of the room!" Venus called back.

Without dropping her shield, Serenity cupped her hands in front of her chest. She looked squarely at Pride, backed into the darkest corner of the room.

"I'm giving you a chance," Serenity told it. "Stop this attack and go back to whatever reality you came from. Please."

"You think you can destroy me?" scoffed Pride. "Only Father has that power. You're the one who needs to surrender. Or else I'll slaughter everyone in this castle! Everyone in the city!"

"I was afraid you'd say that," sobbed Serenity.

The warp formed over Serenity's chest. Out of the warp floated the Imperium Silver Crystal. The light of the room struck it and the gem dazzled brilliantly. Pride recoiled further into the shadows.

"What is that? It isn't a Philosopher's Stone. And why is it so bright?" Pride wondered. "It doesn't matter! You can't defeat me! No human can beat a homunculus! You're nothing more than grist to make Stones from! Nothing more!"

Serenity inhaled and closed her eyes. The crystal began to glow more brightly, rainbow sparks of colors emanating from between the rays of dazzling light.

"Stop it!" Pride demanded. "Stop it! I'll destroy everything you love! I'll lay waste to this castle, to this city, to this country! Stop now!"

"Please take this chance," Serenity murmured. "We can co-exist. But not if you see us as inferior to you."

"Co-exist? With humans? Disgusting!" Pride exclaimed.

The glow increased. Pride pulled back as far as it could, but the glow was making every shadow in the room begin to diffuse.

"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" Pride begged, panic beginning to set in. "I'll stop! I'll leave! I'll never come back! You can have your power! I don't want it! Just don't kill me!"

Serenity began to frown. But before she could pull the crystal back the room was filled with a brilliant silver light. It spilled out the door and into the hall. Everyone had to look away. Moments later they heard the terrified shriek of Pride. It died away to nothing. The light followed.

Everyone waited and moments later Serenity emerged. Her face was downcast and she seemed troubled. Rei went up to her and grasped her hands.

"Sometimes they don't leave you an option," the priest told her friend. Serenity looked up at her, eyes moist. Rei caressed her friend's cheek gently.

"Is everyone all right?" Serenity asked, her exertion clear in her voice. She glanced down at Mercury, who was tending to Yoriko. Shingo and the kids hovered.

"There doesn't seem to be any lasting injuries," Mercury pronounced. "I would like you to stop by my office after everything is secured and let me check on the baby."

"I will," nodded Yoriko.

"Looks like we got out unscathed," Sanjuro said, then glanced at Shingo's children, "physically anyway."

"Are you kidding?" howled Venus. "Look what that thing did to Tat-Chan's face!"

"It's just a scratch," Tatsuo assured her.

"On anyone else, it's just a scratch! On you, it's blasphemy!" Venus argued.

"Thank you, Miss Sensitivity," Rei scowled.

Serenity turned to the Elric brothers. She approached Alphonse and put her hand on his breast plate.

"If you're willing, I will try to return your body to you," the Queen offered. "I don't know how I'd do it, but I'm willing to try."

Alphonse gently closed his hands over hers. "That's very kind of you. But I'm not sure what kind of toll that would take on you. And I don't want you to risk yourself. Brother and I will just keep looking for another way."

"Oh, hey, Serenity!" Jupiter exclaimed. "I just remembered, we've got another one of those monsters literally on ice in the courtyard. Can you get it into cold storage before it breaks loose?"

Serenity and the Senshi, along with the Elrics, went out into the courtyard expecting to find Gluttony still encased in ice. But when they arrived, there was no sign of the ice or Gluttony.

"Don't tell me he got away," sighed Venus.

"There's no sign of him escaping the ice," Mercury noted. "Unless he can teleport. Perhaps we should ask the Elrics."

They all turned to where the Elric brothers had been, but found they were gone as well.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. The Burden For Our Children

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 8: "The Burden For Our Children"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters are © 2019 by Hideaki Anno and Gainax and are used without permission, but with respect.

* * *

"It's just like the last time," Endymion reported to the gathered Senshi. "The Elrics and these 'homunculi' have all disappeared as if they were never here. All physical damage to the palace and the surrounding area is gone. I even received a report from Tokyo Metro that one of their traffic officers dreamed he had been eaten by Gluttony, but is otherwise fine. The only thing left behind is our memories of what happened - - well, what DIDN'T happen."

"Yeah, Tat-Chan's wound on his cheek is gone," Minako spoke up, "thank the gods."

"Well a few things are still around," Shingo Tsukino said. He had insisted on sitting in on the session and Serenity allowed it. "Mikomi had a nightmare during her nap and Kenji went to sleep with the lights on."

"Rough," murmured Minako with a frown. "OK if I give them a pep talk? Maybe I can help." Shingo nodded grimly.

"I'll talk to them, too. Maybe I can help them," Serenity offered. Rei gave her a glance. "I'll ask first."

"So what do we do about this?" Shingo demanded. "My kids are scared out of their minds and my wife almost landed in the hospital."

"You're not the only one with kids here, Shingo," Makoto said seriously. "But he's right. We've got to do something."

"Indeed," Ami spoke up. "Media reports of these incidents are beginning to make the public nervous. Given everything that's happened to them over the years, it's understandable. But the longer this goes on, the more likely an incident induced by panic or paranoia will occur."

"Do we have any leads?" Endymion asked the group.

"I'm sure it's supernatural," Rei began. "I got the same spiritual vibes off of the Elrics and Lust that I got from Lupin and Jigen. Something is bringing these characters to life. I just haven't been able to get a line on what's doing it."

"Do you need me to give your sight a boost?" Serenity asked. "I'm perfectly willing to do it."

"It may come to that," Rei sighed in frustration. "There's no reason to think that there won't be another incident, so I'd like to get this solved before that happens."

"Or else hope the next anime that comes to life is Hamtaro," muttered Minako.

Rei turned to the door. No one else heard anything. After a moment, the door slid open and Rei's Great-grandmother Moriko entered.

"Did you find out anything, Obaa-San?" Rei asked, then glanced to the others. "Obaa-San has been divining, trying to discover something about this case."

"Our culprit," Moriko announced, "is a Genius Loci."

"What?" gasped Rei.

"I'm not surprised you didn't notice, Rei-Chan," Moriko smiled charitably. "It's usually not a particularly strong presence."

"Isn't that the spirit that attacked Ami-Chan?" Serenity asked. Ami became very uncomfortable.

"Yeah, and there was one at Rei's high school!" Minako gasped. "You remember, Rei, the one that tried to turn you into a les. . .!"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD FROM YOU!" bellowed Rei. Ami, Makoto and Serenity all stared in shock.

"Censorship is an ugly thing," huffed Minako.

"A Genius Loci? Obaa-San, there's no way a Genius Loci is powerful enough to cause this much trouble," Rei protested.

"This is what the blessed Inari communicated to me through the stones," Moriko replied resolutely. "The blessed Inari would not lie."

"Did Inari say where we can find this spirit?" Makoto asked.

"No," Moriko replied. Then she glanced at Rei and smiled. "But I have every confidence in my Rei-Chan, now that she knows what she is looking for."

"I'll get right on it," Rei said, rising from the table.

"It was awful," Minako murmured, leaning over to speak surreptitiously to Makoto. "She wanted to kiss every girl in . . ."

And then Minako expertly ducked the pad of paper Rei angrily launched at her.

* * *

After the meeting broke up and everyone went to their assignments, Serenity entered the Royal Chambers. She had a specific mission of her own and searched the quarters until she found Setsuko and Yuri in the family room. The Queen glided over and sat down between them.

"How are you two feeling?" she inquired gently, draping her arms around the two children.

"Is it over?" Setsuko asked. She was frightened, but trying to put up a brave front.

"The shadow monster is gone," Serenity told her. "I - - can't really say if there won't be other things that happen, at least until we find the spirit that's doing this. But your father and I are here, and so are the Senshi, and we'll protect you all."

"I know," Setsuko said and leaned against Serenity's body.

"Does this happen a lot?" Yuri asked. He was frightened, too, and seemed less inclined to hide it.

"More than I'd like," Serenity replied wistfully. "It seems like I tell people and tell them that violence isn't the way, but they just don't listen." She glanced down and brushed at his blond hair. "Sorry you came to live here?"

"No," Yuri replied. "I am sorry that people have to want to hurt you. I don't understand it."

"Neither do I," Serenity concurred.

"How are the others?"

"They're all OK, physically. They're kind of scared, especially your cousins Mikomi and Kenji."

"Is Ichiro-Kun all right?" Setsuko asked with more urgency than she wanted to show.

"Maybe just a little shook up," Serenity told her. Then she smirked. "You kind of like Ichiro-Kun, don't you?"

"Mama," sighed Setsuko.

"Yeah, she kind of does," chuckled Yuri.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" Setsuko pouted.

"OK," Serenity said. "Setsuko-Chan, would you like to go check on him?"

"Can I?" she asked. Serenity nodded. That was all the girl needed. She shot out the door, nearly running over Luna in the process.

"What on earth . . .?" gasped the cat. "I see you're letting manners and decency slide again, Your Majesty."

"You call me 'Your Majesty' again and I'm going to invite Rhett Butler to live here," Serenity fumed.

"Don't even joke about such things!" Luna rumbled. But the exchange gave Yuri a smile, even if he didn't know who Rhett Butler was.

* * *

Two days passed. Things began to return to some sense of normal in Tokyo, though speculation of the strange occurrences continued. It was a hot topic on the news programs and in the Diet. And neither the police nor the palace had forgotten about the incidents. The afternoon found Serenity and Endymion in the palace shrine, seeking an update from Rei and Moriko.

"I've got nothing," Rei reported. She saw Serenity's shoulders fall and instantly felt bad for disappointing her. "The problem with a Genius Loci is that they're such low spiritual energy emitters that it's difficult to pinpoint them."

"What is it, a computer program?" Serenity asked. "You sound like Ami-Chan."

"Sorry if I'm using two syllable words, bird brain," huffed Rei. Serenity stuck out her tongue. "I'm probably going to have to wait for the next incident to be able to trace this spirit, because its spirit level is so small." She scowled. "But that's the thing that gets me. Something as insignificant as a Genius Loci shouldn't be able to alter reality to this degree. The ones I've run across have only been able to affect a small area, like the size of an apartment or a courtyard."

"Perhaps it's working with another spirit entity," suggested Endymion.

"No, the blessed Inari said nothing about another," Moriko shook her head. "And I do not sense the presence of multiple threats to this hearth." The old woman thought a moment. "Although there was an incident once . . ."

"Go ahead, Obaa-San," Rei said, her interest piqued.

"Long ago, before I met your great-grandfather," Moriko began, "there was a shrine maiden in a shrine east of Tokyo. This shrine maiden fell ill. She lingered near death for seven days, and during those seven days the spirits of the departed walked the village nearby. Families were reunited with loved ones. Criminals who had been executed returned to pillage anew. No one knew what to make of it. Then the shrine maiden died and the spirits went away. I asked my father, for I was still a pup at the time, what had caused this to happen. He said it was a Genius Loci, and would speak no more of it."

"Do you think it might be the same one?" Endymion asked.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Moriko replied. "The key to this tale is the shrine maiden. She was said to have powers by the villagers. I don't know this to be true. In the Meiji Era, many priests and shrine maidens were thought to have spiritual powers when they actually didn't. But if she did, perhaps the Genius Loci exploited those powers while she was ill to enhance its own abilities."

"That might explain some of this," nodded Rei. "And it also gives me a more narrow area to search."

"How so, Rei-Chan?" Serenity asked.

"So far the incidents have been limited to Minato-Ku," Rei deduced. "All I have to do is find someone in this prefect with spiritual abilities who is sick or incapacitated."

"Hospitals; nursing facilities," suggested Endymion.

"Good places to start. But I'm still going to have to wait for another incident before I can start looking." Rei sighed.

* * *

"Any luck, Artemis?" Minako asked as she paced the apartment like a caged tiger. Tatsuo tried to read the script he had been given by his agent, but found it difficult to concentrate.

"On tracking down the source of the anime incidents? No," the white cat replied. "That was something Rei and Moriko were working on. What was I supposed to do?"

"Something!" Minako fussed. "I hate this waiting!" She glanced at Tatsuo, then back at Artemis. "So anything on that 'other' problem?"

"No, I haven't found a trace of 'He Who Shall Not Be Named'," Artemis sighed.

"That's too good a nickname for him. I still prefer 'Ratboy'."

"I could take that several ways," Tatsuo said as he struggled to concentrate.

"DON'T START!" howled Minako. "I love you, Tat-Chan! Don't believe otherwise!"

"I believe you love me," Tatsuo said, looking up from his script. "But you're obsessed with him. And the longer you're obsessed with him, the less it does for our relationship."

"He's got a point," Artemis added.

"What do you know? You're a cat!" yelled Minako. "Stop looking at kitty-porn and find him! I don't want to wake up some morning and find him in bed with me!"

"As if I'd look at kitty-porn around you," Artemis sniffed. "As easily as you get jealous?"

Minako was about to respond when her Senshi Communicator went off. Tatsuo and Artemis both looked up.

"Sounds like it's starting," Minako replied to the message they didn't quite hear. "Meet the gang at the garage?" She closed the face of the communicator.

"Back to the Safe Room?" Tatsuo asked. It obviously wasn't his preferred destination after what had happened before.

"Uh, Luna will let you know," Minako told him, henshin stick in hand.

* * *

One of the palace limousines came out of the palace garage and headed for Tokyo harbor. The limousine contained three Inner Senshi, plus Queen Serenity. So as not to risk palace personnel, Sailor Jupiter drove.

Their target had risen out of Tokyo harbor and was now levitating over the harbor district. It was to their eyes five stories tall, a dark long-limbed creature with bony growths over its face and massive spines growing out of its elbows. What propelled it or what even kept it aloft baffled everyone in the car as the limousine wove through traffic.

Finally Jupiter could get no closer due to the snarled traffic and the panicked pedestrians. Mercury and Venus looked up at the towering apparition. Jupiter stayed in the car, ready to move, while Mars was still back at the palace. Serenity stayed in the car at the insistence of Venus and Jupiter. Mercury had her computer out and her visor down to try to determine what it was. Venus already knew.

"Sachiel," the Senshi said with awe.

"I think I know that one," Jupiter remarked. "Neon Genesis Evangelion, wasn't it?"

"On the nose," Venus replied.

"I'm reading an energy field," Mercury reported, "generated by some type of internal engine. The technology isn't familiar to me." She continued to look at the read out. "The body is primarily organic. In fact, genetic scans place it quite similar to humans."

"What do you suppose it's after?" Serenity asked.

"It was after NERV headquarters in the episode," Venus answered. "But it's not going to find NERV in this Tokyo - - unless Endymion's been holding out on us."

"So," Jupiter persisted, "what do we do? Just leave it alone?"

"It has yet to demonstrate any belligerence," Mercury suggested. "Perhaps attacking it would be the incorrect course."

"I'm not sure we could do anything against it anyway," Venus judged. "Got any idea where it's headed, Merc? Because it looks like it's headed for the Crystal Palace."

"Given its current trajectory, I would say that is an accurate assessment," Mercury nodded.

"Then we're going to have to engage," Venus concluded. "Get this buggy started, Jupe, and get us in front of that thing."

The limousine peeled out and raced through traffic. When it was sufficiently in front of the Angel, the four women got out.

"Stay back, Serenity," Venus advised the Queen. "Let us take the first shots. I don't want you involved unless there's no choice."

"All right," Serenity nodded. "Please be careful."

Venus smiled and nodded, then joined Jupiter and Mercury. Sachiel was hovering toward them, oblivious to them and everything else.

"Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter called out.

Electricity lanced down from the heavens and collected in the lightning rod on her tiara. When it could hold no more, it released in a massive bolt of lightning that leaped hungrily at the towering Angel. The bolt encompassed Sachiel in electrical energy, sizzling and popping on its skin, heating the area around it. Sachiel stopped while the electricity sped around and through it. But when the electricity spent itself, the Angel continued on as if nothing had happened.

"What are you, getting soft?" Venus jabbed.

"I'll show you soft," scowled Jupiter. "JUPITER COCONUT CYCLONE!"

At once dark clouds began to gather over the area. The wind picked up until it whipped and tore at everything. Sachiel stopped and looked up at the gathering elemental forces above it. The day almost because night because of the thick clouds. There was a rumble that sounded like distant thunder.

Then a massive bolt of electricity struck, lighting up the entire area. The Senshi and those watching had to turn away to shield themselves from the explosion of white light. A gigantic clap of thunder followed, breaking windows and rumbling through the city in all directions. Venus was the first to look up, followed by the others.

A shield of yellow energy, shaped in a series of hexagons that formed a larger hexagon, surrounded Sachiel. When the energy from Jupiter's max attack dissipated, the shield did as well.

"That energy shield it generated," Mercury gasped, looking at it through her visor. "It doesn't seem possible that an entity could generate something like that. The energy reading was off the scale."

"A T Field?" Jupiter wheezed, glancing at Venus.

"A T Field," Venus nodded. "I was afraid of this. Against an A T Field, we may as well be throwing rocks at it."

"Not necessarily," Mercury spoke up. "Cold can decrease the efficiency of molecular energy. If I could encase this entity in a field cold enough to disrupt this A T Field, we could have an opportunity to capture or incapacitate it."

"Take a shot," shrugged Venus. "I don't have anything else."

Mercury let her computer fade. Turning to the advancing Angel, she set her feet and took a breath.

"Sub-Zero Caress!" Mercury shouted.

A wave of water flew up from nowhere and surrounded Sachiel. Predictably, the Angel surrounded itself with the A T Field, keeping the water from touching it. With a gesture, Mercury flash froze the water, trapping it inside. As the Angel remained immobile, everyone stared.

"The energy field is developing gaps," Mercury reported. "If sufficient gaps occur, the cold will incapacitate it."

"Good going, Mercury!" Serenity exclaimed.

The A T Field suddenly dissipated. But energy formed inside of the ice cocoon, then shot out. It burned a hole through the ice and lanced down the street for a mile. At the three quarter point, two side branches grew out of the beam. The ice encasing Sachiel fractured and then broke away.

"I see I'm going to have to deal with this," Serenity said. She levitated up to eye level of the Angel. Her Senshi watched, their hearts in their throats.

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. The Eighteenth Angel

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 9: "The Eighteenth Angel"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

If you have not seen Neon Genesis Evangelion, be warned that there are some spoilers in this story.

* * *

"Do you feel it, Obaa-San?" Rei exclaimed. She had been sitting on the floor in the shrine, legs crossed and trying to meditate. At once her head raised and her eyes opened.

"I feel something, Rei-Chan," Moriko replied. Moriko sat next to her, her spindly looking legs crossed efficiently (more efficiently than Rei), meditating as well (and doing that more efficiently as well). "It isn't quite clear, though."

"It's the Genius Loci," Rei told her, rising up out of her sitting position. The sleeves of her robe fell back toward her hands.

"Well, you always were more sensitive than I was," Moriko smiled proudly. The old woman rose more spritely than someone her age should have. "Can you pinpoint it?"

"Not yet," Rei shook her head. "I do feel it emanating from that direction," and she pointed northeast.

Not stopping to talk further, Rei exited the shrine and sped down the corridor to the command center Luna and Artemis had set up. Moriko followed and the pride in the old woman's face continued. Rei entered the command center and found, as she'd hoped, Luna and Artemis monitoring the situation in the city.

"Look at that energy beam!" Artemis gasped.

Rei peered over the shoulder of the cats, who were using traffic cameras to monitor the battle between the Senshi and Sachiel. The Angel had just burst from its ice prison using an energy beam that obliterated everything in a narrow path for a mile ahead of it.

"Has Serenity gotten involved yet?" Rei asked pensively.

"Not as yet," Luna replied. "But after that display of power, I dare say she's the only one who might have a chance against this creature." The black cat turned to the priest. "Have you found out anything?"

"The spiritual emanation is coming from the northeast," Rei answered. "Are there any hospitals or long-term care facilities in that part of the prefect?"

"Give me a second," Artemis replied. He minimized the battle and pulled up a business map of Minato-Ku. A map came up with seventeen red pinpoints. "The closest ones are IUHW Mita Hospital and Saiseikai Central. There's also Jikei University Hospital, but that's farther off."

"How about nursing homes or extended care facilities?" Moriko inquired.

"I'll print you a list," Artemis told them. Moments later, they held a list of twenty facilities.

"Doesn't narrow it down much," Rei sighed.

"We can eliminate most of them because they don't fall in the proper area," Moriko encouraged her. "And perhaps the closer we get, the more obvious this devilish little spirit will become to you. We must not give up before we start."

Rei glanced at the monitor. Serenity was levitating into the air to face Sachiel. She swallowed nervously.

"No," the priest whispered. "We can't let her down."

* * *

Mercury, Jupiter and Venus watched nervously as Queen Serenity levitated up to eye level with Sachiel. The behemoth stood there, staring at her, as if waiting for her to make a belligerent move. But this was Serenity.

"Please stop," she said to the Angel. "Why are you here? What do you want from us? Maybe we can accommodate you without any further violence."

Sachiel just stood and stared at her. The Angel didn't move for the longest time.

"In the anime," Venus shouted up, "the Angels were looking for Adam and Lilith! They knew Lilith at least was in the basement of NERV headquarters!"

"Spoiler alert?" Jupiter said to her.

"Anyone who hasn't seen this by now is either slacking or not interested," Venus shot back.

"We don't know where the other two are," Serenity told the Angel. "And there is no NERV here. Please stop. You're injuring innocent people."

Still the monolithic Angel stared at her. Then, with surprising speed for something so large, Sachiel reached up and plucked Serenity out of the air, closing its hand around her.

"SERENITY!" bellowed Jupiter. If she hadn't been spent from her max attack, she would have attacked right there. Venus, though, had no such restrictions.

"Rolling Heart . . .!" Venus began.

But she stopped when she and the others saw Serenity pass through the hand like a ghost, then solidify outside of it. She glanced down at her friends.

"He thinks I'm the Eighteenth Angel!" Serenity shouted down to them. "I never watched the show! What is the Eighteenth Angel?"

"That was from 'End of Evangelion', wasn't it?" Jupiter said to Venus. "That film always made my head hurt."

"The Eighteenth Angel was always supposed to be humanity," Venus called back up. "I guess, since you're probably the pinnacle of human evolution, that would make you the Eighteenth Angel. Clearly they haven't seen you try to cook."

"I'm sorry," Serenity said, turning to Sachiel. "I can't go with you. My home is here. My mission is here. Do you understand?"

"She's actually talking to that thing?" Jupiter asked.

"Given its body language, it seems to understand her to some degree," Mercury commented. "The question is now: is this entity evolved enough in its thinking to acquiesce to Serenity's wishes, or will it try to force her compliance?"

The lumbering footfalls of what could only be another behemoth in the streets of Tokyo sounded from a distance. The Senshi turned and saw roughly a mile away another towering creature. It was a sort of blue-violet, with a bony covering over its skull and a horn projecting from the center. Its limbs were long and gangling, its torso lean and muscular. A gigantic "01" was painted on its chest and a deadly firearm was in its right hand.

"Isn't that Unit 01?" gasped Jupiter.

"Serenity!" Venus shouted up to the hovering queen. "Look out! There's going to be a fire fight!"

Unit 01 seemed to hesitate as Sachiel turned to look at it. The Senshi could see its hands shaking as it raised the weapon to fire. Sachiel stood unmoved by the provocative act. Then the weapon began spitting out energy bursts aimed at the Angel. Sachiel erected the A T Field and the bursts were absorbed into it. But the displaced air and the shock waves from the impact sent Serenity flying.

When Unit 01 stopped firing, Sachiel dropped the A T Field. Again, a crimson beam shot out from the Angel, obliterating anything in its path. The beam struck Unit 01, vaporizing the rifle and knocking the EVA against a building.

"Stop!" shouted Serenity. "You're killing innocent people! Stop fighting! Please, stop fighting!"

Sachiel fired again as Unit 01 started to pull itself up. But Serenity flew into the path of the beam, creating a defensive shield of her own. The beam struck the shield and reflected back at Sachiel. It struck and sent the Angel toppling backward into the street below.

While Unit 01 hung back, trying to gather itself, Sachiel lay stunned. It began to move. Then the whistle of a large incoming object touched the ears of everyone gathered. Mercury, following with her visor, looked up just in time to see another creature plummeting out of the sky. It was like Unit 01, but the torso was more narrow. The creature was mostly red, with highlights of yellow on the arms, and had two vertical stabilizers behind the shoulders. In its hand was a gigantic weapon that resembled a knife.

The creature landed by Sachiel with the nimble grace of a ballet dancer, then pivoted and plunged the knife weapon into the red oval in the Angel's chest. Sparks flew, energy sizzled and Sachiel let out a sound that resembled a speeding freight train mourning the end of its life. Serenity looked on in horror as Sachiel twisted under the assault, then twitched weakly and seemed to deflate. Only then did the newcomer withdraw its weapon. Rising to full height, it turned to Unit 01.

"That's how you do it," the behemoth said in a very human, very girlish voice, which remarkably everyone could hear, "Baka Shinji!"

"It's OK, Serenity!" Venus called up to the queen. "That's NERV Unit 02"

"All right?" gasped Serenity. "She killed that poor creature!"

"That's what we're supposed to do!" Unit 02 snapped at Serenity.

"But it didn't understand," Serenity argued with the EVA. "It just valued Adam more than it did the people it thought were keeping Adam from it."

Unit 02 stared at Serenity for a few moments. "Whatever," it huffed, then turned and walked toward Unit 01. Serenity levitated down to the others.

"I was tracking the trajectory of that third creature," Mercury told the others. "It leaped here from Tokyo Bay!"

"They're supposed to defend humanity?" Serenity said, aghast. "They're more dangerous than the Angels!"

"Well, we weren't too concerned about collateral damage at fourteen, either," Venus offered. "Important question now is whether another Angel is going to show."

"And which one," Jupiter added. "And whether these two are going to go after it. Because I'm with you, Hon'. You don't grow flowers by stomping through the flower bed."

Unit 02 stood over the still prone Unit 01. Unit 01 struggled to regain its feet, but couldn't manage it.

"My battery's about done," Unit 02 communicated to its fellow. "Can you get up?"

"Can't focus," Unit 01 answered. "That beam did something to me."

"Useless," sighed Unit 02. "Eject your plug and wait for the NERV recovery team. I've got to go."

And Unit 02 hurried off, none too gently, through the streets of Minato-Ku. As Serenity and the Senshi came over, a white metallic capsule ejected from the back of Unit 01. The EVA continued to lay in the street, inert. The capsule came to rest on the street, its rockets misfiring, and just smoldered. Jupiter reached for the latch on the capsule, but pulled back.

"That's thing is red hot!" the Senshi exclaimed.

"Let me," Serenity said, gently landing. She gestured at the hatch and the latch turned by itself.

The hatch swung open. After a few moments, a youth in a blue and white protective suit staggered out, holding his head. Immediately Mercury moved in. The youth was gaunt, spindly, with brown hair unfashionably decorating his head. His babyish features were twisted in pain. Mercury eased him to the ground. Serenity hovered with concern, while Venus and Jupiter looked on.

"Try not to move too suddenly," Mercury advised him. "I'm scanning the symptoms of a concussion. Does it hurt anywhere else?"

"Uh," Shinji Ikari mumbled. "No, ma'am."

"Venus," Serenity gasped to her friend. "He's just a boy! He was operating that thing? He's just a boy!"

"He's about our age when we started," Venus offered.

"All the more reason," Serenity replied.

"Serenity, I recommend this boy be hospitalized at least over night," Mercury turned to her.

"Done," Serenity nodded. With a gesture, Shinji levitated up into the air. She followed and within moments they were sailing through the sky toward Saiseikai Central Hospital. Her three Senshi watched her leave.

"Can you hospitalize someone who isn't real?" Jupiter asked.

"He's real enough at the moment," Mercury replied. "I scanned a living fourteen year old male. Whether he'll still be in the hospital bed in the morning is anyone's guess." She turned to Venus. "You're the authority here. Will there be another attack?"

"If it follows the anime, yes," Venus told her. "But it's not exactly following the anime. Unit 02 wasn't involved in the battle with Sachiel. She came later."

"Oh brother, did she," chuckled Jupiter.

"So it could be the fourth Angel next, or the fourteenth," Venus continued. "Or there might not be an attack at all." Mercury and Jupiter accepted the statement with little joy.

"So what do we do about this?" Jupiter asked, gesturing to the now inert Unit 01.

"I'm not cleaning it up!" exclaimed Venus. "I may have played a maid in the movies, but that doesn't make me one in real life."

* * *

"We're headed for Saiseikai now, Luna," Rei communicated to the palace. "The sense of this creature is getting stronger. Saiseikai might have the person we're looking for."

"You're certain that it's a human influencing reality like this?" Luna asked over the communicator.

"No, it's the Genius Loci," Rei responded. "It's drawing spiritual energy from whatever human its trapped and making their dreams real. He must really be an anime otaku."

"You're certain the victim is male?"

"Most likely. The anime so far have been shonen," said Rei. "And before you say it, no, Minako doesn't count."

"Good hunting," Luna signed off with a smile in her voice.

"And even if we don't find our target," Moriko smiled knowingly, "it will give you the chance to check on Serenity-hime."

"You know, Obaa-San, you can be TOO perceptive," Rei said, her cheeks coloring some. Moriko chuckled.

It was when the pair got within sight of Saiseikai hospital that Rei stopped. She put her hand to her head and grimaced.

"You sense it?" Moriko asked.

"I sense," Rei began, "something. Two things, actually. But one is so massive that it's drowning the other out. I think we're about to come under attack."

Rising up behind the hospital was another of the EVAs. This one was constructed like the others, though its armored exterior was blue and there were no offensive extensions on the armor. Moriko crouched to move, while Rei drew a sutra from her robe. The looming behemoth turned and stared into the sky. Adjusting her line of sight, Rei saw it.

To their right and the EVA's left, there was a circle of black hundreds of meters wide. It had several white stripes cutting through it diagonally. The EVA drew its knife-like weapon from the scabbard on its leg and faced the black and white sphere. But it made no offensive move against it.

Judging the EVA to be no threat, the black sphere began levitating across the Tokyo sky, oblivious to the panic below. Both the EVA and the team of Rei and Moriko watched the sphere move, trying to determine what it intended.

"It's headed for the hospital!" Rei gasped.

"But with what intent?" Moriko wondered out loud.

"Serenity!" Rei gasped. "Serenity's in there! Mars Millennium Power Make Up!"

The transformation took just a second, but it was a second too long for Rei. When Sailor Mars finally appeared, the sphere was that much closer to the hospital.

"Mars! Flame Sniper!" she shouted.

The flaming bow formed in her hands. As the arrow formed, Mars had already pulled the fiery bowstring back and was aiming at the sphere. She took just a moment to say a prayer to the kami of the wind to allow her arrow to fly straight and true.

"Rei-Chan! Don't fire on it!" Moriko shouted.

But the shaft was already airborne. It sped toward the black sphere until it struck about the section with the white stripes and disappeared. Mars and Moriko both stared in amazement.

Then a black circle opened under the feet of Sailor Mars. Moriko lunged desperately for her great-granddaughter, but Mars suddenly fell through the circle beneath her. The warp closed once she was through. Moriko stared in shock.

Sailor Mars no longer existed on this Earth.

Inside the hospital, Serenity watched pensively as Shinji Ikari was examined by an emergency room doctor. She wanted to ask how he was, but her experience with Ami and with her husband had taught her to let the doctor work in peace.

And just like that, a jolt passed through the Queen. She reared back suddenly, then sank to her knees. While a nurse kept watch over Shinji, the doctor and another nurse ran over to the stricken Queen and knelt down next to her.

"What happened?" the doctor asked with concern. "Did you experience something traumatic?"

"Rei-Chan," Serenity whispered.

Continued in Chapter 10


	10. Confrontation

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 10: "Confrontation"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

If you have not seen Neon Genesis Evangelion, be warned that there are some spoilers in this story.

* * *

Scurrying out of the hospital, Queen Serenity spotted Moriko standing on the sidewalk across from the facility. Rather than stop traffic, she levitated over it and landed by the elderly figure.

"Moriko-Obaasan!" Serenity gasped anxiously. "Where is Rei-Chan?"

"Gone," Moriko responded, her voice stilled in shock. "She's gone. I don't sense her anywhere."

"What happened?" Serenity wailed.

"That," Moriko whispered and pointed. Serenity turned and looked. Levitating toward them was a large black sphere with white lines cutting through it. Though they didn't know its name was the Angel Leliel, they both could sense its power.

"What did you do with Rei?" Serenity cried out at it. Leliel continued to approach. "Bring her back! Do you hear me? Please bring her back!"

* * *

Sailor Mars floated in nothing. Everything around her was black. She sensed no light, and yet she could see her body. She sensed no air, but she didn't suffocate. Worst of all, she sensed no one else. She was all alone. Suppressing a primitive urge to panic, Mars tried to move. There was a sense of movement to her body, but it didn't seem like she was getting anywhere. Finally she stopped.

"See if my attacks work," Mars thought. "And maybe the light will illuminate something and tell me that I'm not in some endless void."

She steepled her forefingers.

"Fire Soul!" the Senshi called out. There was a spark between the tips of her fingers, but no ignition. "Nothing. Is something dampening my attacks? Or is there just no oxygen to combust? But if that's the case, how am I breathing?"

Images began to flood into her mind, unbidden. Images of a seven year old girl sitting alone in a room, mourning the death of her mother, wondering why her father wasn't there to comfort her. Images of an eleven year old, shunned by the other primary school kids because she saw things she wasn't supposed to see and knew things she wasn't supposed to know. Images of dying in a frozen wasteland at the hands of a youma. Images of hovering between life and death, Mars' body stolen and used as a puppet to attack - - her. Images of a cold, dank dungeon cell carved into tundra and of the savage beatings she endured because she could control fire.

"Stop it!" Mars cursed herself. "Grandpa always told you that calm eyes see the answer while panicked eyes can miss it."

As she floated in the middle of nothing, Sailor Mars brought her body into a lotus position. The Senshi grimaced as she tried to complete the position and push past the tightness in her thighs. Once she was in the position, Mars tried to clear her mind. Again, it was her sage grandfather's advice running through her mind. "Empty yourself of thought; The Gods will fill the vessel if they choose. But they will not fill a vessel already filled."

"Find your center," Mars told herself softly. She imagined her grandfather, alive again and the kind, adorable gnome of wisdom and irritation that she remembered, gently leading her by the hand toward her center. The world fell away. Time fell away. Everything was gone except herself and her center, shining brightly within her. And then there was another sensation, another light moving into her mental view.

Her eyes opened. There before her was a raven-haired girl of seven. She had penetrating violet eyes that were clouded with melancholy, and a solemn cast to her face. Wearing a man's t-shirt with the same pattern of white lines on the black shirt that Leliel had and nothing else, the girl stared right at Mars. Mars wondered who she was and at once knew. It was herself at seven.

"Why are you scared?" little Rei asked Sailor Mars. "I thought you liked being alone."

"Who are you?" Mars asked in return. "Why do you look like me?"

Little Rei, though, wouldn't answer. She only looked to Mars to answer the question she had posed.

"Answer me!" Mars demanded angrily.

"You always get angry when you're frustrated," Little Rei observed. "Or when you're frightened. Do I frighten you?"

"Not knowing your intent frightens me," Mars countered. "What do you plan to do to me? And what do you plan to do to her?"

"I see," Little Rei nodded. "You prefer being alone to being with others who might hurt you. You'd spend your entire life with her if you could, because you feel she would never intentionally hurt you."

"Are you real?" Mars asked. "I can't read you, so you must not be. So what are you?"

"If I told you that I had no intention of hurting you, would your suspicions be allayed?" Little Rei asked. Mars just stared at her, unsure whether to believe. "You fear desertion, too. You fear that anyone who comes in contact with you will eventually grow tired of you and leave."

"This is what people must feel like around me," Mars muttered. "Why won't you answer my questions?"

"Why won't you answer mine?" Little Rei retorted. "You guard yourself so obsessively. Are you that afraid that people will reject you if they know you that well?"

Mars began looking around. "There has to be some way out of here," she muttered.

"The people you think hate you don't really hate you," Little Rei stated. Mars looked back at her, annoyed by the statement. "You just put your hand up and keep them at bay, and they can't get past your barrier. The girls at your school; Yuuichiro; Derek; your father; even your fellow warriors and your queen can only go so deep because you fear being hurt so much."

"Why ask questions you already know the answers to?" Mars whispered bitterly, looking away.

"I'm trying to understand," Little Rei said. "You're a great puzzle to me. You all are."

"Then you are that alien, that Angel, and you've taken this form on purpose," Mars frowned. "Why? What are you after?"

"At the moment? To understand," Little Rei confessed.

"Ultimately?" Mars persisted.

"Her," Little Rei replied. Mars didn't need it to elaborate.

* * *

"Please bring her back!" Serenity screamed again. The Angel Leliel seemed to ignore her.

"Make no move against it, my Queen," Moriko advised her. "That is how my great granddaughter met her fate."

"Then how . . .?" Serenity began.

They were interrupted when a palace limousine roared up to them and skidded to a stop. In moments, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter were out and rushing to Serenity's side.

"That's one of the Angels, isn't it?" Jupiter asked, glaring suspiciously at it.

"Leliel," Venus confirmed. "You DO NOT want to attack it."

"Moriko-obaasan said the same thing," Serenity told them.

"I'm not scanning anything," Mercury declared, her visor down. "There's some light refraction evident, but nothing of substance. That entity in the sky is an illusion."

"And that's Leliel's trap," Venus nodded. "You attack the lure in the sky, then the real Leliel opens up a warp underneath you and sends you into a different dimension."

"Is that where Mars is?" gasped Serenity.

"Mars attacked it?" Venus reacted with surprise and dismay. "Yeah, that's where she is."

"How do we get her back?" Serenity demanded frantically.

"Well," Venus thought, "in the anime, Shinji and Unit 1 had to physically claw their way out of the dimension before the military dropped a ton of bombs on Leliel. I don't think Mars has that power."

"It's a ludicrous solution anyway," Mercury added. "The ability to physically rend dimensional space is dubious science at best and certainly beyond any capability Mars has." She thought. "Or any of us, for that matter. If this Angel won't bring her back, someone would have to transport somehow into this dimensional space, retrieve Mars and transport her back."

"I'll go," Serenity declared.

"Serenity, it's a gigantic risk," Mercury advised. "Assuming you can manage to traverse this dimension space, which is chancy, and assuming you can manage to track down Mars, transporting the two of you back again could be quite physically taxing. That's in addition to any dimensional characteristics that would negatively affect you, as well as any opposition mounted by this 'Leliel' to prevent your return. You can't do it, Serenity."

"I can't abandon Mars, either," Serenity replied. "If it means my life, I will try to save her, just as I would any of you."

"Hon'," Jupiter began and Serenity glanced a challenge at her, "have you tried asking?"

"Yeah, these Angels seem to like you," Venus added. "Maybe you could turn on the old Queen Serenity charm . . ."

"I was pleading with it when you came up," Serenity told them. "It wouldn't respond." She sighed. "But I'll try again."

Turning up to the illusion of Leliel in the sky, Serenity spread her hands in supplication.

"Please, give Mars back," she called up to the Angel. "We can discuss what you want. Maybe come to an agreement. But holding Mars does nobody any good. It's not necessary to force my cooperation. Please give her back."

"S-Serenity!" Jupiter gasped.

When the Queen looked at her, Jupiter pointed. Mercury, Venus and Moriko were all staring, too. Standing there, looking up at Queen Serenity, was five year old Usagi Tsukino. The girl was wearing a black pinafore with white stripes on it. Taking a moment to get over her initial shock, Serenity knelt down so she was eye to eye with the girl.

"How are you here?" Serenity asked. "You're me, aren't you?"

"No, Serenity," Venus whispered. "That's Leliel. The Angel has taken your form so it can communicate with you."

"Is that true?" Serenity asked the little girl. "Are you Leliel?"

"Why do you wish the return of the other?" Little Usagi asked. "Of what value is she to you?"

"She's my dear friend," Serenity answered. "But even if she weren't, she's a living being who deserves the chance to keep living?"

"Why?"

"All creatures deserve the chance to live," Serenity told her.

"But when I came, the other attacked," Little Usagi said.

"I'm sorry about that," Serenity replied. "She must have been frightened. Mars wouldn't attack unless she thought she was protecting someone. It's all a big misunderstanding. Please forgive her."

"Rancor is beneath my species," Little Usagi responded. "My defenses react automatically to hostile action. I will bring this being back to this dimension - - because you require it."

Moriko let out a gasp. Sailor Mars was suddenly standing next to her. As the Senshi tried to get her baring, Serenity launched out of her crouch and slammed into Mars, wrapping her in a crushing bear hug. Startled at first, Mars calmed and wrapped her arms around Serenity's torso.

"Mars, I thought I'd never see you again!" the Queen wailed.

"I didn't, either," Mars whispered, smiling. After a few moments, Mars noticed Little Usagi. She pulled away from Serenity and went into a defensive posture.

"It's all right, Mars!" Serenity exclaimed. "It just wants to talk." She returned to kneeling before Little Usagi. "Thank you for returning her. I'm very grateful. May I ask why you have come?"

"We seek the First Angel, Adam," Little Usagi responded. "And the Second Angel, Lilith. Though perhaps we have found one. Are you Lilith?"

"No," Serenity replied. "I'm not one of you. I'm human."

"You are more than human," Little Usagi said. "But I will take you at your word. We will continue to search. Do you know where our fellow Angels would be?"

"I'm sorry, I don't," Serenity told the Angel. "I wish I could help you. In spite of your intimidating appearance, you're all really quite intelligent. I don't know why we have to have confrontations."

"I do," mumbled Venus with a wry smile.

"Spoiler alert," Jupiter said and nudged her with her hip.

Without another word, Little Usagi faded until she was gone. Serenity and the Senshi looked up in the sky, but the black sphere with white stripes was gone as well.

"I hope that's the end of it," Serenity sighed.

"It won't be the end of it until we find that Genius Loci," Mars said. "Obaa-San and I had a lead. We need to search that hospital."

"Then let's go," Jupiter replied. As the group headed toward the hospital, Jupiter began to smirk. "Honestly, Hon', I think you could charm the spots off of a leopard."

"And did you see how cute she was as a little girl?" howled Venus. "Serenity, did your dad stand a chance against you at all?"

"Not really," the Queen chuckled. Then she realized what she'd said. "Forget about that! We need to focus on this spirit!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Venus and Jupiter said in unison.

"You two stop that!" snapped Serenity. Mercury stifled a laugh, while Mars remained focused on the spirit emanations of the Genius Loci.

But as they approached the hospital, they saw Shinji Ikari leaving. And he was in the company of a woman who was unknown to them except for Venus and Jupiter. Serenity broke into a run and approached them, the Senshi behind her. Alerted to their advance, Shinji and his escort stopped and faced them.

"Where are you taking him?" Serenity asked..

"Queen Serenity," the woman nodded. She had thick black hair, a handsome face and wore a military-style ensemble of a black dress with a red jacket and beret, the jacket decorated with strange insignias. "I am Major Misato Katsuragi of NERV. I want to thank you for caring for our pilot here. However, we'll be taking charge of him from here on." Shinji looked away, as if he feared Serenity would yell at him.

"Is he well enough to travel?" Serenity asked.

"The doctors at our facility will look him over and confirm his recovery," Katsuragi replied.

"And then what?" Serenity asked. "Are you going to put him back in one of those monstrous robots and have him fight the Angels? Major, he's just a boy!"

"I'm aware of his age," Katsuragi replied. By the quaver in her voice, the others suspected that Serenity had touched a nerve. "We're not forcing him to pilot the EVA. Shinji-Kun knows that he is the only one capable of psychologically linking with the EVA and operating it, and that the EVAs are our only defense against the Angels. It's a desperate situation, and desperate situations sometimes call for desperate measures."

"But you don't have to fight the Angels, Major," Serenity argued. "They just want Adam and Lilith. Give them Adam and Lilith and they'll go."

"And do you know where to find these Angels?" Katsuragi retorted. "So in the mean time we're just supposed to let the Angels destroy anything and anyone in their path until they're found? That's not a very compassionate decision. The Angels have to be destroyed, or else they'll destroy us. Intentionally or not, they'll destroy us."

"And a war with them won't?" Serenity asked. "Major, I am Queen of Japan. I forbid you to take this boy with you."

Katsuragi frowned and took out a cell phone. She punched in a number and waited for it to connect.

"I apologize for bothering you, Sir, but there's someone who is trying to prevent me from regaining custody of Pilot Ikari." She listened and then handed the phone to Serenity. "He wants to talk to you."

Serenity took the phone. "Who is this, please?"

"Gendo Ikari, Commander of NERV," came the voice, a voice gruff and dismissive. He seemed annoyed that he had to even speak to her. "Why are you interfering with the recovery of our pilot?"

"Ikari?" Serenity asked, surprised. "Are you related?"

"I'm the boy's father," Ikari responded.

"And you let him pilot this dangerous robot? Aren't you concerned for his safety? He's your own son!"

"We are at war," Ikari responded. "Everyone is at risk, whether they pilot an EVA or hide in a shelter. I can't worry about the safety of one person. I'm trying to save an entire world. As such, I don't have time for your misguided concern."

"Misguided? He was injured! He may still be . . .!"

"I am his father and I will decide what is best for him!" his response barked in her ear. Then she heard a click. Aghast, Serenity handed the phone back to Katsuragi.

"NERV isn't under the jurisdiction of the Japanese government," Katsuragi warned her, though there was some sympathy in her eyes. "He's coming with me."

Serenity was about to protest, but Shinji reached out and stopped her.

"It's all right," he said meekly. "If my father wants me to pilot the EVA, at least it means he wants me."

The boy's eyes lowered and he turned away. Katsuragi headed him toward her car as Serenity stood, stunned. The other Senshi approached.

"It's just a bad dream kicked up by that spirit demon whatever it is," Jupiter told her, a hand on the Queen's shoulder. "Don't let yourself get too broken up about it."

"Yeah, we've got more important things to worry about," Mars added. "We find that Genius Loci and deal with it, then all of this trouble disappears."

"Then let's find it," Serenity nodded, "for that poor boy's sake if nothing else."

Continued in Chapter 11


	11. Enter The Mouth Of Hell

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 11: "Enter The Mouth Of Hell"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Hellsing and all related characters are copyright 2019 by Kouta Hirano and Shonen Gahosha; Dirty Pair and all related characters are copyright 2019 by Haruka Takachiho; K-on! and all related characters are copyright 2019 by Kakifly; Urusei Yatsura and all related characters are copyright 2019 by Rumiko Takahashi and all are used without permission, but with respect.

* * *

The Queen of Japan entered Saiseikai Hospital, led by Sailor Mars and flanked by her great-grandmother Moriko and by the other Senshi. Heads turned and a low murmur began to rise from the people in the hospital lobby. Mars struggled to shut the noise out and concentrate on her supernatural sense. Mercury scanned the area with her visor, while Jupiter and Venus stayed alert.

"No, Endymion, nobody was hurt," Serenity said over her Senshi communicator. "Mars thinks the source of all of this is here. Yes, of course I'll be careful." There was a pause. "Nobody asked you, Luna!"

"Your Majesty!" an administrator exclaimed as she hurried over to them. "Is something wrong? May I be of some assistance?"

"Well, you can start by not calling me 'Your Majesty'," Serenity smiled apologetically. "We're, um, looking - - for something. And it might be here. And you might tell your security people to keep everyone away from us, so they don't accidentally get injured if there's a, well, confrontation."

"Is something dangerous loose in the hospital?"

"We don't know yet," Serenity replied. "But there's no need to panic. We have everything under control."

"This way," Mars told the others gruffly. She started for an elevator.

"Yes, ma'am," frowned Venus. As they headed for the elevator, Venus leaned over to Serenity. "That's telling 'em, Serenity."

"Well what was I supposed to say?" whined the Queen.

"It's not words, it's the inflection," Venus told her. "Sound confident, like a leader."

"I'm not the actor here," Serenity moped.

Once inside the elevator, Mars hit the third floor. Moriko looked decidedly uncomfortable. Venus noticed and that made her uncomfortable.

"We close?" she asked Moriko.

"Rei-Chan would know better. I don't particularly like elevators. I guess it's the fox in me," Moriko replied. "But something is here."

The door opened and everyone got out. Immediately Mars sank to her knees and grabbed her head. As Serenity sank to her knees to support Mars, the others went on alert and looked around. Down the corridor to their left, the lights were out and an eerie mist seemed to be hovering on the floor.

"Mars?" Serenity exclaimed.

"I'll be all right," grunted Mars. "That sudden sense of overwhelming evil just hit me out of the blue. I wasn't ready for it."

"I-I see what you mean," Serenity murmured, glancing warily down the darkened hall. Mars could feel her begin to tremble.

"Is it the Genius Loci?" Jupiter asked.

"Something far worse," Mars shook her head. "It might be something the Genius Loci pulled out of its victim's mind because we're getting too close, but it dwarfs that spirit in its aura of evil."

"I'm detecting two entities down that hall, lurking in the shadows," Mercury reported. "One female adult, carrying a blade weapon; the other is a boy, possibly genetically altered into a human-canine hybrid."

"Any of this sound familiar, Blondie?" Jupiter asked.

"You asked me too quick," Venus replied.

Mars got to her feet and began to venture down the corridor. The rest followed. They could all feel Serenity trembling and knew of her deep-seeded fear of monsters and dark places. Jupiter reached out and closed her hand around the Queen's upper arm for support. The corridor bent in a curve and as they traversed the curve, they could see a bright white light at the end. Framed in the white light were two figures. One was holding a scythe. The closer they came, the more they could make out details of the two figures.

"Hey!" the woman with the scythe called out. "Are you people that eager to die?"

She had short-cropped copper brown hair and wore a sleeveless black shirt and military style black pants and boots. A cigarette dangled disdainfully from the left corner of her mouth. The scythe was balanced easily on a muscular right shoulder. But the most remarkable thing about her was that every visible part of her right side was tattooed with words and symbols, some recognizable, some not. She stared at them with cruel eyes.

Next to her was a boy about thirteen, blond and wearing a military-style uniform with short pants. Mercury instantly recognized it as a Hitler Youth uniform from 1930s Germany. He was unremarkable in every way, save for the two animal's ears growing out of his blond hair, and the look of utter corruption on his face.

"Oh no," Venus sighed. "Zorin Blitz and Schroedinger from Hellsing. She's a vampire and he's a wolf boy."

"V-Vampire?" squeaked Serenity.

"You in charge of this, girl?" Zorin said, taking a step forward and bringing the scythe to bear. "Better turn around now and go - - while you still can."

Punctuating the statement, a scream of unholy terror came from the ward behind them. Serenity gasped audibly.

"That's the long-term care ward of the hospital!" Mercury said, scanning. "I'm scanning ten patients in there!"

"Or maybe I should just deal with you now," Zorin smiled, revealing the fangs of a vampire. "Gut you and hang you all by your heels and just feed off of you when I get hungry. What about it, Queen Serenity? Does your blood taste sweet?" Behind her, Schroedinger leered.

Sensing Serenity was barely hanging on, Mars stepped forward with a sutra in her hand. But Moriko stopped her with a hand on her arm. Mars turned to the woman.

"You and the Queen must get to the Genius Loci," Moriko advised her. "Let me handle this."

She wanted to protest, but her upbringing prevented it. After a moment, Mars nodded, turned and whispered to Serenity. The Queen stared at her for a moment in shock, then nodded and put her hands on Mars' upper arms. Sensing what they were about to do, Zorin extended her arms, throwing long shadows on the walls. The shadows then sprang from the walls and wrapped around Jupiter and Mercury as Serenity levitated herself and Mars up to the ceiling and through it.

Using her expert reflexes, Venus managed to avoid the shadows. Crouching defensively, Venus saw the shadow begin to wrap around Jupiter, changing into spider's webbing. Ugly memories kicked up in Jupiter's brain and she began thrashing wildly as the silk cocooned her. At the same time, Mercury was engulfed by the shadow, cut off from all sensory input. The Senshi fell to her knees and began to struggle to free herself. Glancing over at her adversaries, Venus noticed that Schroedinger was gone.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" the Senshi shouted, thrusting her golden chain at Zorin. However, a swing of her scythe cut the chain in half and it fell inertly to the floor.

"I don't have anything to fear from an old woman!" laughed Zorin.

At first Venus thought she was referring to Moriko. But a glance at her hands told her different. Venus stared in shock as her hands and arms began to wither before her eyes, the skin sagging and riddled with age spots. She brought her hands to her face and felt the lines, the crepe skin and the brittle hair. The strength leaving her body, Venus sank to her knees and stared up at Zorin.

"It's an illusion," Venus told herself. But it was so real.

Serenity and Mars became material again when they passed up to the fourth floor, levitating through a radiology lab and surprising two workers. Mumbling an apology, the women headed for the door, their goal to reach the spot above the Long Term Care ward and pass through the floor into it. But in the doorway, Schroedinger was waiting for them.

"Impressive, Konigin Serenity," the boy leered. "But I fear I am much faster than you at jumping from place to place."

Without engaging in banter with the boy, Mars let a sutra fly. The sacred paper shot at Schroedinger, but missed as the wolf boy disappeared. He reappeared ten feet to the right of his old position.

"That is not nice. Der Priester wishes to do me harm," chuckled the blond boy.

And he was gone again, reappearing a moment later next to them. Schroedinger bared his sharp teeth and was about to plunge them into Mars' neck. But then he grimaced and disappeared again, reappearing by the door.

"Your aura is strong," Schroedinger scowled. "And you are too close together. It is sickening!" He smiled again. "But you still must get through me to reach your goal and I do not destroy that easily."

Mars brought out another sutra and began charging it with spiritual energy. She let fly, but again Schroedinger disappeared and reappeared out of the sutra's path. He was about to taunt Mars again, when to his surprise Serenity suddenly appeared in front of him. The boy reared back and tried to disappear, but he acted too late. Serenity's arms wrapped around the boy and she crushed him to her in a hug.

"You poor boy," Serenity murmured as she held him tight. "What you must have gone through to make you like this. I'm so sorry. Please regain your innocence. I'm sure it's not too late."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" shrieked Schroedinger. "VERDAMMT WOMAN! YOU'RE SUFFOCATING ME!"

Serenity felt the boy go limp in her arms. She loosened her grip and Schroedinger slid limply to the floor, his face frozen in terror. The Queen stared in shock.

"Mars, what happened?" she gasped.

"His corruption was no match for your spiritual presence," Mars replied. "That would be my guess. Come on. We still have to get to the Genius Loci."

As Moriko circled Zorin Blitz warily, her three Senshi companions writhed in the illusions of some of their worst fears. Blitz smiled a predator's grin at the old woman.

"So, old woman?" Blitz asked, grinning and displaying her jagged teeth. "What do you fear?" Moriko stared back with surprising confidence.

"Better you should ask what do you fear?" a voice came from the darkness.

Zorin Blitz turned to the voice and seized up. Advancing on her out of the shadows was the English vampire Seras Victoria, her venomous glare shooting a chill through the room.

"You!" Blitz gasped. Trying not to show trepidation, Blitz gave ground and Seras Victoria continued to advance on her. She brought her scythe back to swing at her foe.

A sharp, vicious slash at her right wrist caused her to lose her grip on the scythe. Whirling around, she saw Moriko had slashed at her hand and now had possession of the scythe. As Seras Victoria faded into mist like the fox illusion she was, Moriko swung the blade with all her might. Zorin Blitz put up her arm to block the slash, but the blade cut through her arm and her neck, severing her head from her body. Bereft of support, the body collapsed while the head bounced once and rolled down the hall.

With Zorin Blitz dead, her illusions disappeared. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter sat on the floor, confused and anxious. Moriko wanted to give them time to recover, but knew she couldn't.

"Come along," she told them, holding the scythe in one hand. "The Queen and Sailor Mars will need our help."

"O-Of course," Mercury nodded, her voice trembling.

"It was so real," Venus murmured to herself. Jupiter took a deep breath and tried to file her fear back in the corner of her mind it had sprung from. The four headed for the Long Term Care Ward.

Entering, they all saw Serenity and Mars pass through the ceiling like ghosts. Expecting to find a horror show, instead they found a normal hospital ward with ten beds occupied by ten patients in various states of consciousness, and two very surprised duty nurses.

"Um, you can't be here," one of the nurses spoke up.

Mars ignored her. She looked around and her vision settled on a fourteen year old boy laying comatose in a bed. Her right hand came up and vertically bisected her face. She began walking toward the boy, Moriko following. The nurse came up to intercept her.

"It's all right," Queen Serenity stepped in. "We're on official business. Please don't interrupt her."

With the other Senshi edging up close behind her, Mars continued to advance on the boy. When she got within ten feet of the bed, Mars stopped. Everyone else stopped with her.

"Show yourself!" Mars demanded. The nurse thought she was crazy. "I know you're here, feeding off of that unfortunate. Show yourself, Genius Loci Muso-ka!"

The nurse's eyes bulged when a figure began to materialize over the patient's bed. She looked as young as the patient, with long, straight, flowing black hair cascading down her back, and delicate porcelain features on a round face. She wore a yukata of blue with gold trim and red embroidery, wearing it off the shoulder to expose her bodice and loosely tied to reveal her leg. The creature held a fan in one hand and curled the other under her chest. She gave Mars a superior smile.

"So you found me, Priest," Muso-ka chortled. "And now you will seek to destroy me. But be warned, the spirit in this boy is strong and it has made me strong. Are you certain you are up to the task?"

"We'll find out," Mars replied.

From her glove, she produced a sutra and pressed it to her forehead. Muso-ka began to laugh. Suddenly she thrust out her fan.

* * *

At once Rei Hino found herself in feudal Japan. Her knowledge of history told her it was fifteenth century. She was outside of a castle. A mounted samurai was yelling something to her that she couldn't quite make out. Other retainers were running to the walls and the gates, while outside there was a great din. Mars looked down and found herself in an expensive kimono, sandals on her feet and her thick black hair done up atop her head and held in place with jade kanzaki rods. She reeled for a moment. Then came recognition.

"This is the kimono I showed Usagi!" Rei thought. "And this period - - it's right out of 'Fire Princess Rika'!" She looked down at the kimono again. "A-And I must be Rika!"

* * *

Makoto Kino glanced to her left and found a woman sitting in the seat. She had red brown hair piled up on top of her head and held by a head band. She wore a silver lame top and shorts that barely concealed her womanly figure, and calf boots of the same material. In her hand, she was polishing a futuristic firearm. Looking down, Makoto saw she was similarly garbed, her costume barely containing her figure. The woman didn't know whether to be confused or embarrassed.

Glancing at the controls of the small space ship, Makoto saw a huge animal in the pilot seat. The closest description she could come up with was if a black bear and a panther had conceived a child. Makoto swallowed once.

"OK, how in Hell did I manage to end up in the middle of 'Dirty Pair'?" she thought.

* * *

That Minako Aino was on a stage was not unusual for her. What was unusual was that she was wearing a pleated black skirt, a crisp long-sleeved white blouse, and a black jacket, and that she was standing in front of an electronic keyboard. She didn't play keyboard, or any instrument beyond occasionally goofing around on a guitar between studio takes. A glance out at the audience told her she was in a high school auditorium.

A glance at the stage told her everything. Performing with her was a very tall, very beautiful and very nervous girl with long black hair and a left-handed guitar; an aggressive girl with brown hair held back by a headband pounding on a set of drums; a small, petite girl with long black hair gathered on either side of her head, playing a guitar; and a bouncy, enthusiastic girl with short brown hair, a high-pitched voice and a guitar she played like she was hammering wood.

"K-On, huh," Minako thought to herself. "Well, I guess it's better than 'Attack on Titan'. The question now is how do I get out of here?"

* * *

Queen Serenity seemed confused at first. She was in a very lower middle class home. A man was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and looking like the world was one gigantic conspiracy to make his semi-respectable life miserable. Sitting next to him was a woman roughly forty. She still looked comely for her age, with pretty brown hair and a nice figure. But she wore the same expression of defeat and despair that the man wore. Serenity could tell that she was muttering something to the man, but the man ignored her and continued to read his paper.

"Um, excuse me," Serenity began. The woman looked up, though the man continued to read his paper. "Where am I?"

"You're at home," the woman replied, her smile forced. "Don't worry, Lum-Chan. That worthless Ataru will be home any time now. Would you like to help me fix dinner in the mean time?"

"Ataru?" Serenity asked.

Confused, she looked down at herself. Instead of her white robes, Serenity found herself wearing a tiger-skin bikini and boots. Immediately her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"This is Urusei Yatsura!" she gasped. "How did I end up here?"

The man finally looked up from his newspaper.

* * *

Back in the real world, Muso-ka threw back her head and laughed.

"All of the things I was able to do feeding off of this unusual boy," the spirit grinned, floating toward the unconscious Queen Serenity. "Imagine how powerful I can be feeding off of the famous Queen Serenity! Oh, it worked perfectly!"

Concluded in Chapter 12


	12. A Dose Of Reality

THE MIND WORM  
Chapter 12: "A Dose Of Reality"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

One moment Mercury and the others were poised to attack the Genius Loci Muso-ka, hovering over the bed of a comatose fourteen year old boy. Then, in unison, everyone else in the room sank to the floor, unconscious. Mercury looked up from them to Muso-ka. Muso-ka began to float toward the Queen, then stopped when the spirit spotted Mercury. It wasn't quite clear which of them was more confused.

"I don't know how you're able to resist my power when the priest and the fox spirit couldn't!" fumed Muso-ka.

"That's my secret," bluffed Mercury. She pointed with her gloved hand. "Shine Aqua Illusion!"

Water sprang up from nowhere and gushed against the wall in the far corner, then quick froze. Mercury sought to trap the supernatural spirit in ice and pin her to the wall. But the spirit passed through the ice without any problem.

"Physical attacks are meaningless against me," Muso-ka chuckled. "Oh, but I recall they do affect you. Perhaps I should bring some of the anime dreams from the priest to life and see how you fare."

There was no overt physical sign. But moments later Mercury found herself surrounded by a dozen fifteenth century samurai, all armed with very sharp swords and very determined attitudes.

"For Princess Rika!" one of the samurai shouted.

"For Princess Rika!" the rest of the samurai answered, raising their swords as one.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury shot back.

Water shot out in several directions until each samurai was engulfed by water. The water froze around them, rendering them all useless. Muso-ka responded by summoning more samurai.

"You seem to have the advantage of a limitless supply of reinforcements," Mercury judged. "Logically I should even the odds. Shabon Spray!"

Muso-ka jumped as the room was suddenly engulfed in a thick, cool fog. The fog was so blinding that the spirit could barely see her hand in front of her face. Because of this, she couldn't see Mercury, guided by her visor, move to the portable drug cabinet in the room and select a drug and a syringe from the supply.

"Where are you?" raged Muso-ka. "You won't escape! I'll just create something that doesn't need to see you to track you!"

Suppressing the urge to taunt the spirit, Mercury came over to the unconscious Sailor Mars. Drawing the necessary amount of stimulant into the syringe, Mercury selected the proper vein and injected the drug into Mars. Moments later, Mars woke up.

"That Genius Loci," Mars murmured. "Put me in a dream."

"I suspected as much," Mercury said. "Can you overcome her? I can guide you to her if necessary."

"No, she's drawing too much power from that boy, and now all of us," Mars shook her head. "I'm going to need Serenity."

"She's on your right," Mercury told her. "She's unconscious as well."

"Then I guess I'll have to wake her up," Mars said.

Shifting, she placed her hands on Serenity's temples. Mercury heard Mars begin a soft chant, but couldn't make out the words. Dismissing it, the Senshi turned to make sure Muso-ka wasn't advancing on them. After a few more words, Mars' head drooped.

* * *

"But you don't understand!" Serenity wailed, her hands reflexively trying to cover herself, as she was wearing nothing more than a tiger skin bikini. "I'm not Lum! I'm not!"

"We understand, Lum-Chan," Ataru's mother sighed forlornly. "Sometimes we wish we weren't Ataru's parents, either." The father nodded solemnly as he read his paper.

"That's a fine thing to say about your son!" a male voice protested. Serenity looked, but couldn't quite believe what she saw. Entering the house from the street was Rei; but she had short hair and was wearing a boy's black school uniform.

"What have you done now?" fretted his mother. "Isn't it bad enough that you keep poor Lum-Chan at arm's length? Can't you do the honorable thing and marry her?"

"Rei?" Serenity gasped and scurried over to her - - him. "What's going on? Where are we? And why are you dressed up as a boy?"

But when Serenity got close enough, Rei suddenly grabbed her by the upper arms, shoved her - - his - - mouth to hers and kissed her - - hard. Shock and confusion went from swirling in Serenity's brain to figuratively blowing the back of her head off.

And suddenly she was on the floor of the Long Term Care ward, surrounded by a thick fog. She looked up and saw Sailor Mars touching her temples and opening her eyes.

"Mars," Serenity gurgled, "did that just happen?"

"Better you don't think about it," Mars suggested. "Now lend me your power, please. I still have to deal with Muso-ka."

Her mind still swimming, Serenity reflexively did what Mars asked. Mars felt the immense power of the Silver Crystal flow into her. She shuddered audibly at the overwhelming spiritual presence she felt, then drew a sutra from her glove. But suddenly the Senshi stopped. Serenity and Mercury looked at her curiously.

"Mars?" prodded Mercury.

"It's gone," Mars whispered. She listened for a moment. "No, it's trying to flee!"

Bolting to her feet, Mars sprinted for the exit of the Long Term Care Ward. Barreling through the door and out into the hall, where before there had been the carnage of Zorin Blitz, but now there was nothing, Mars came to a stop. Serenity and Mercury watched from the door.

"Mars! Flame Sniper!" Mars bellowed angrily. "Oh no you don't!"

The Senshi leveled her arrow at a spot on the ceiling where nothing seemed to be. The fiery shaft let fly and struck, eliciting a howl of agony that filled the hall. Then a form began to appear around the flaming arrow lodged in the ceiling. When it fully formed, Serenity and Mercury could see it was Muso-ka, dangling from the ceiling where the arrow pinned it. The spirit stared with lifeless eyes and a mouth opened in surprise.

And then the corridor sprinklers came on.

"Did you have to kill her, Mars?" Serenity asked timidly. With her power in Mars's care, Serenity couldn't protect herself from the water and quickly became drenched.

"Yes," Mars replied. She sounded exhausted. "Disgusting little mind worm." Turning, she grasped Serenity's hand and the energy of the Silver Crystal flowed back into its rightful vessel.

* * *

While hospital personnel went about putting the Long Term Care ward back in order and calming the patients that were conscious, Serenity and the Senshi talked out in the hall with Superintendent Sakurada while her police personnel made certain everything was in order.

"It was Mercury's show, Superintendent," Sailor Venus told the police official. "I was in dreamland." She chuckled. "In fact, I was playing keyboard with the band from 'K-On'."

"Oh, I love that show!" gasped Serenity.

"So how were you able to remain unaffected by this," Sakurada asked Mercury, then glanced skeptically at Mars, "evil spirit?"

"The Genius Loci, though supernatural in nature, was operating by a recognizable pattern, in that she was producing scenarios based on popular manga and anime, no doubt overwhelming favorites of her victim, the teen Ko Yamamoto," Mercury explained. "When she attacked the Senshi directly, she delved into our minds to place us into a similar familiar fictional situation using manga popular with us. What she failed to plan for was that I don't read fiction."

"You've never read manga?" Venus asked, her eyes wide and staring.

"I've never read fiction of any kind," Mercury corrected her. "Mother thought it a waste of my time. As I grew older, I became ingrained in the practice. If I want to pass the time reading, I pick a book on a scientific subject, or one on history. As such, the Genius Loci had nothing to draw upon to trap me."

"Not even once?" Venus gasped.

"Why do you find that so difficult to comprehend?" Mercury asked.

"Sounds like child abuse to me," muttered Venus. Jupiter gave her a hip nudge while Serenity nodded gravely.

"I would like to recommend that Ko Yamamoto be placed in some sort of protective barrier," Mercury suggested. "I took a scan of his brain with my computer and I note an abnormally high level of latent ESP potential in him."

"You mean he can lift things with his mind?" Jupiter asked.

"Not as yet. It's untrained ESP potential. However, he was exploited once by a Genius Loci and the possibility exists that it could happen again."

"I thought Sailor Mars destroyed the thing," Sakurada questioned.

"I did," sighed Mars. "But Genius Loci are like cockroaches: they're very hard to eradicate and a psychic nuisance. Another one could show up. I'll see what I can come up with. It might have to be in the form of a charm rather than a barrier."

"Assuming he ever wakes up," Jupiter noted. "Anybody know why he's comatose?"

"According to his medical history, he fell while trying a skateboarding stunt and struck his head on a corner of concrete," Mercury informed them. "Quite unfortunate and quite unnecessary."

The Senshi all turned because they'd all gotten the same idea at the same time. Sure enough, Serenity had glided over to the teen's bedside. Before anyone could stop her, she had touched Yamamoto's head and expelled a burst of silver light. A moment later, the teen's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, aren't you Queen Serenity?" the teen boy asked.

"I am," she smiled, then leaned in. "Please stop taking foolish risks. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone." And she glided back to her Senshi.

"Speaking of taking foolish risks," Mercury began, eyeing her critically.

"Now, Mercury," Mars interrupted, smiling at Serenity with admiration, "I'll agree it was reckless, but given the results, I can't condemn it as foolish." Serenity gave her a grateful smile.

"Come on. I think we're done here," Jupiter told them. "The palace limo is still out front." She glanced at Venus. "And before you ask, I'M driving."

"Sure, be that way," grumped Venus. "So what manga were you all trapped in? You already know I was in K-On."

"Dirty Pair for me," Jupiter chuckled. "I haven't watched that anime in thirty years!"

"Dirty Pair, huh? You know," Venus leered, "maybe you ought to get a few pictures of you in one of those Lovely Angels costumes. Might be a nice Christmas present for Sanjuro."

"Blondie, I have two kids!" Jupiter protested.

"Well? You're still built like a brick pagoda! Ask anyone!" They approached the limo. "I know a photographer. He specializes in 'sexy old married women' pictures."

Jupiter considered it for a moment.

"Nah," she grinned.

"How about you, Serenity?" Venus asked.

"I'M NOT SAYING!" exclaimed the Queen. Venus narrowed her eyes.

"Let's see," Venus reasoned out loud. "You were a pretty big Takahashi fan when you were younger. Mermaid's Scar? Ranma ½?" Suddenly she smiled. "Urusei Yatsura?"

Serenity went beet red, confirming the question for everyone.

* * *

In the shrine inside the palace, Rei Hino was digging candle wax out of a candle holder. She considered for a moment using her Senshi powers to evaporate the wax. Then she decided that it would be lazy and chastised herself for thinking it. A feeling came over her suddenly. Moments later, Serenity entered the shrine.

"Social call?" Rei asked, turning to the Queen. "I don't sense trouble."

"I've got a couple of questions, Rei," Serenity confessed. "They're really bothering me. I hope you won't be insulted by them."

"Yes, I can sense your turmoil," Rei nodded. She gestured to a cushion. "I'll be back with some tea."

Ten minutes later, Rei was sitting across from Serenity. A tea service was between them and the Queen was nibbling on a cookie.

"Now what troubles you?" Rei asked, though she sensed the answer before she asked the question.

"Well," Serenity began, "when we were in my dream - - and I was Lum - - and you were Ataru . . ."

"I kissed you because it was the quickest way to startle you out of the dream," Rei told her. "I was Ataru and you were Lum, and I only had a few choices: We could start arguing or I could kiss you. Or I could confess I was chasing another woman and you'd hit me with electricity." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I chose to kiss you because I needed to shock you out of your dream state and I figured that was the most likely way to do it."

"No other reason?" Serenity asked.

"No," Rei replied.

"Because it brought back memories," Serenity said, looking down. "Of a certain afternoon . . ."

"Serenity, that's in the past," Rei told her. "It's a very pleasant memory, but it's in the past. I've left it there, and for your continued happiness I suggest you leave it there, too."

Serenity didn't look at her.

"You're probably right," she said. "It's just . . ." She went silent for a few moments. "Well, I've got a manga to draw and a country to run. Thanks for the talk - - and the cookie."

"Any time," Rei smiled warmly. "Oh, wait. You said you had a couple of questions."

"Oh, yeah," Serenity replied. Then the features of her face twisted in agony. "Rei-Chan, I need to come up with a name for Shingo and Yoriko's baby and I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING!"

Rei wanted to be angry, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She rose from her cushion.

"Come on," Rei said, trying to conceal her smirk. "I think there are baby books at the library. Maybe we can go to Hayami's branch and get him to point us to a few."

"I knew you'd have the answer," Serenity beamed.

* * *

Yoriko Tsukino peered out from the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner for her family. Shingo sat in a chair. Since he worked nights, he had just gotten up and would head to work after dinner. He watched his sister, the Queen of Japan, sitting on a child-size stool between his two children, five year old Mikomi and three year old Kenji, and talking to the two children in a way that didn't condescend or talk down to them. Shingo found himself admiring her for this ability. He knew he didn't have it, not to this degree. For all of her faults, and he knew them all intimately, his sister also had some very astounding abilities.

"Were you scared?" Mikomi asked. Serenity was telling them about the defeat of the Genius Loci, omitting the gruesome parts.

"Sure I was scared," Serenity answered. "Mostly I was scared that I would do something wrong and let Muso-ka get away so she could continue to hurt people. Fortunately, your Aunt Ami and your Aunt Rei were there and together we were able to make her stop hurting people."

"She's gone now?" Mikomi asked and everyone could feel the unspoken fear of falling victim once again to something like Pride.

"She's gone," Serenity smiled. "You don't have to be afraid, Mikomi-Chan."

Mikomi's eyes sought the floor.

"Mikomi-Chan," Serenity said gently. She put her hand on the girl's head. "Things happen in the world, and it's not always going to be nice. I'm trying to fix that, but I haven't done it yet. So until then, bad things can still happen. But we can't spend all of our time worrying about when it will happen and being afraid. Because if we are, we're going to miss all of the good stuff because we're too busy worrying about the bad. And you don't want to miss all of the good stuff, because it's really good. And I'll be here. And I'll do the very best I can to make sure that everyone is safe." She lowered her head to Mikomi's eye level. "OK?"

The girl thought for the longest time. Then she nodded.

"Thank you for trusting in me," Serenity beamed. Then she reached behind her back. "And I think I've got something for you."

Bringing her hand out, Serenity offered a piece of candy to Mikomi. As the edges of the girl's mouth turned up, she gently took it.

"Me, me!" protested Kenji. "Me, too!"

"Of course!" Serenity exclaimed, producing another piece of candy. "I'd never forget a handsome young man like you!"

"No more than one, please," Yoriko spoke up. "I don't want them to spoil their dinner. Would you like to stay, Serenity-oneechan?"

"Of course she would," smirked Shingo. "When did she ever turn down a meal?" The Queen responded with a pout.

But she did stay.

* * *

Sanjuro entered the kitchen where his wife was preparing dinner. It took a few moments for Makoto to realize he was there because she was concentrating on the curry sauce to make sure it was just right. When she looked up to him, a strand of brown hair fell across her eyes.

"I found this envelope of photos on my pillow," Sanjuro said. "Somebody blackmailing you?"

"Blondie suggested that," Makoto replied, brushing the hair out of her eyes and trying not to flush. "She thought you might like them."

"I do," Sanjuro grinned. "I have very fond memories of 'Dirty Pair'."

"I bet you do," Makoto smirked. Sanjuro came up behind Makoto and wrapped his beefy arms around her waist, the envelope of photos dangling from one hand.

"You make a very nice Yuri," he whispered, nuzzling her neck. "Better than the original."

"San-San, when you do that," Makoto sighed.

"Uh!" they heard a grunt. Glancing over, they saw Akiko standing in the doorway, her face painted with disgust. "Get a room!" The teen whirled and left.

Smiling at the irony, the couple rested their heads against each other, then went back to family life.

END


End file.
